After Story: Potential
by Magnus Prime
Summary: An 'After' story based on Kotomi's route from the VN/Anime 'Clannad'. The two childhood friends have been reunited at last. What kind of changes will they each find as they begin this new chapter in their lives?
1. Hitting the Ground Running

**Kotomi After Story: Potential  
** _ **A Tomoya /Kotomi fanfiction**_

 **Chapter One: Hitting the Ground Running**

I yawned as I opened the door to my house and entered it. I had been on my way to meet up with Kotomi when Kyou and Fujibayashi had gotten hold of me. I protested, but my usual spinelessness in the face of the older twin ended up with me dragged all over town, buying stuff for the girls – well, Kyou really.

I opened the door to my room and froze. "Where's my stuff?" I yanked the door to my closet open. Empty. "…the hell…?"

Had my dad finally kicked me out? Where was my stuff? I opened every door in the hall, including the door to my dad's room, trying to find anything that belonged to me.

Failing to find anything of mine upstairs, I ran downstairs and looked everywhere. "Where's my stuff?!"

With no idea where else to look I flung open the front door to find: "Kotomi-chan?"

My girlfriend stood on the front porch with her usual posture; very upright, with hands folded in front of her and a smile on her face. "Tomoya-kun…"

I think I barely registered her greeting. "I'm sorry; you've caught me at a really bad time." I drew a panicked breath. "My stuff is gone. Bed, dresser, clothes, everything…what's so funny?"

Kotomi was giggling uncontrollably; an unusual occurrence. "I know where your possessions are." She reached out her hand, which I reflexively took. "It will be all right, just come with me."

Despite her comforting words my head spun as she led me down several streets, turning several times. Since I was working on calming myself down, I wasn't aware of where we were going until she stopped and I found myself in front of her house. "What are we doing here?"

"Tom-" She cut herself off for some reason before leading me to the front door. I watched blankly as she retrieved her key and unlocked and opened the door.

"Kotomi-chan," I started as she led me up the stairs, "why are you bringing me here?"

A giggle was her only answer as she led me to one of the many doorways in the hallway. "Please, go in," she simply said.

I opened the door to find all of my stuff, furniture and all, arranged almost exactly the way I had them at home. I turned to a giggling Kotomi. "What's going on?"

"This," she composed herself enough to announce, "is your room."

Now that I had been reunited with my things, I finally started to calm down. I also had a question; maybe more than one. "Why is my stuff here?"

She looked at me the way a mother would look at a child who had asked a silly question. "Because you will be living here from now on." Her cheeks pinked. "With me."

"No, I get that's the result," I retorted. "What I mean is: Why am I living with you now instead of my dad?"

I mentally kicked myself as her face paled. I knew exactly what she was going ask next: "You do not want to live with-"

"D'ah!" I held up a hand to stop her. "You're jumping ahead. Go back two steps."

I watched as the gears turned in my girlfriend's lovely head.

Finally, she blinked in realization. "Oh! Um…" Her face returned to its previous crimson. "Kyou-chan suggested that this would be helpful to you…"

Kyou…I should have known…sonofa-

"I made the arrangements with your father…"

Waitaminute…how did-

"…and then Kyou-chan arranged for her and Ryou-chan to distract you while the move was completed." She tilted her head, causing one of her 'pigtails' to sway. "Are you unhappy with the arrangement?"

"It's not so much that as it is…" I had a flash of insight. "What does your caretaker have to say about this?"

She nodded with a bright smile. "He trusts you implicitly."

"Is that good?" What does 'implicitly' mean, anyway?

She nodded again. "Very, very, good."

I exhaled noisily. "Look, Kotomi…I really don't know what to think of this right now." I scratched at my head. "I mean, I go out for a day and come home to find my things gone, only to find them at my girlfriend's house." I gestured to her. "Try to see yourself in my shoes; how would it make you feel?"

I watched as, again, the gears turned as Kotomi ran the simulation.

Even though I didn't like seeing her upset, I was somewhat relieved when she paled again. "Oh, Tomoya-kun! I am so sorry!" She looked down at the floor. "I had not factored in the effect it could have on you."

I smiled as I rested a hand on her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm back with my stuff, and…well, you're here."

She visibly brightened at my words, though with some hesitation. "If you want me to have your possessions returned, I will understand."

I thought for a moment. Normally it wouldn't be appropriate for a boy and a girl to live like this…but then, Kotomi and I were hardly normal, for varied reasons.

I looked at her anxious expression. She had waited years for something like this, had the approval of not just my dad but her guardian as well…and she put me in a separate room, which put my mind at ease as far as her intentions.

I smiled in resignation. "All right, Kotomi-chan; let's give it a shot. But," I said, interrupting her happy gasp, "we're gonna have to have some rules in place. I don't want to give anyone any reason to think that we're up to no good."

"But we are not bad people, Tomoya-kun."

"Speak for yourself," I retorted half-jokingly before turning serious at her puzzled look. "Just trust me on this, okay? I've heard about…things…that high-school couples have done, and I don't want to be like them."

She studied me briefly before nodding resolutely. "Okay, Tomoya-kun. I trust you."

Hopefully I would be worthy of that trust…no, I would be worthy of that trust, no matter what it took.


	2. Settling In

**Chapter Two: Settling In**

" _Tomoya-kun…"_

Was I having a dream?

"Tomoya-kun…"

I slowly opened my eyes to the most beautiful thing I've ever seen; Kotomi's face, glowing in the morning light. Her large violet eyes gazed down on me with obvious affection and her lips spread in a soft smile.

I wasn't the poetic type, but the word 'Magnificent' came to mind. "Morning, Kotomi-chan."

"Good morning," she replied. "Please hurry and get up; breakfast is waiting and we need to go to school."

I dragged myself out of bed as she left my bedroom. I was still getting used to waking up at a decent time. Even though I didn't live with my dad anymore, it was still taking me a while to adjust to the new schedule.

"Tomoya-kun; Good morning," she greeted as I padded down the stairs, still in my nightclothes.

"Morning, Kotomi-chan," I managed to grunt. "Wait, didn't we do this already?"

She walked ahead of me into the kitchen, where breakfast waited in the dining nook. "I went with a Western-style breakfast this morning; bacon, eggs, toast with jam…"

"Smells good," I reluctantly interrupted, not ready to hear the whole list so early in my morning. "Thanks, Kotomi." Upon seeing her slight pout I quickly amended myself. "Kotomi-chan." That brought the smile back to her face along with a cute giggle.

We sat across from each other at the table, Kotomi in her school uniform and me still in my nightclothes. "Let us put our hands together," she said.

I did as I was told.

"Thank you for the food."

"Thanks for the food."

With a practiced gracefulness, Kotomi picked up her chopsticks and began eating.

I started to eat as well, but I had a hard time tasting the food. Something was nagging at me.

"Tomoya-kun, is something wrong?" Apparently Kotomi had noticed. "Do you not like the food?"

"It's not the food," I replied. "Something's not right, but I can't figure out what it is."

I smiled sleepily as Kotomi breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I worked so hard on breakfast that to have you not like-"

"It's fine, it's fine," I said, waving a hand. "I'm not sure what my problem is."

I felt her gaze on me, but she said nothing more for the rest of breakfast.

* * *

Whatever it was bothered me all though the school day, keeping me from concentrating on my studies. I ended up hearing "Okazaki! Pay attention!" more times than I cared to count.

Apparently, it even affected my time with Kotomi during lunch.

"Tomoya-kun, you have not touched your lunch; do you not like it?"

"Huh?" I was surprised to have heard her with how engrossed I was. "S-Sorry, Kotomi-chan."

She turned sad eyes on me. "Are you still upset like this morning?"

I roughly rubbed my scalp. "Yeah." I chuckled. "It's actually gotten worse; now it's bugging me that something's bugging me."

"'I lay awake all night with toothache, thinking about toothache and about lying awake'," I thought I heard her say.

"What?"

She shook her head, sending her pigtails bobbling. "It is nothing. I think I understand."

"Thanks." I reached out and patted her hand and enjoyed the blush that it brought to her cheeks along with her typical gasp whenever we'd touch.

Fortunately I was able to at least ignore my uneasiness for the rest of lunch.

* * *

I watched apprehensively as Kotomi set dinner on the table. I knew that I was on edge partly because I was sharing a house with my girlfriend, but I really felt that there was something else.

She uncovered a bowl with an air of 'Ta-Daah!', a happy smile gracing her beautiful face. She looked the part of the ideal housewife, with a white apron over her black dress; she'd been wearing that particular dress a lot more often, lately.

She sat down across from me. "Let us put our hands together."

I did as I was told.

"Thank you for the food."

"Thanks for the food."

With a practiced gracefulness, Kotomi picked up her chopsticks and began eating.

I started to eat as well, but I had a hard time tasting the food. That nagging feeling had returned.

"Tomoya-kun; is something wrong?" Apparently Kotomi had noticed. "Do you not like the food?"

"It's not the food," I replied, dreading a repeat of this morning's conversation. "Something's not right, but I still can't figure out what it is."

I smiled as Kotomi breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I worked so hard on dinner that to have you not like-"

"Work," I repeated. Then my eyes widened. "That's it! Work!"

"Tomoya-kun?"

I looked to Kotomi's puzzled eyes. "I'm basically mooching off of you right now. That's not right."

Kotomi shook her head, clearly puzzled. "But Tomoya-kun, I am the one who brought you here. If anything, you are my guest."

I shook my head, and I'm sure I had a look of irritation. "Normally I'd agree with you. But I'm your boyfriend, so I think it's different."

"Different? How?"

I scratched my head. I knew there was a difference…then it hit me. "Kotomi-chan, normally a guest would stay for a few days, then leave, right?"

"Yes," she replied with some hesitation.

"But I've been living with you for the last two or three weeks, which makes us more like…" I didn't want to use the word because I didn't know how she'd react, but… "…more like…a couple. Even though we don't sleep in the same room!" I was compelled to add.

Her reaction was…surprising but not surprising: She turned beet red, her hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Tomoya-kun! I never thought of it that way!"

"See? This is why I feel like a moocher."

Kotomi regained her composure enough to pout. "I do not think of you that way."

I smiled softly. "Thanks. That means a lot to me." I sighed heavily. "I'd like to do something to help with the household…." I drifted into thought. "I guess I could help with the yardwork, huh?"

"That would be very helpful," she offered.

I rubbed my face with both hands. "All I'd need is a job and it'd be like we're a real married couple." I heard a squeak from Kotomi's side of the table and uncovered my eyes to find her flushed molten again and breathing heavily. "Kotomi-chan? You okay?"

"Married…couple…Tomoya-kun…" She looked like she was about to keel over as she fanned herself with her hand.

I bolted out of my chair to her side. "Kotomi? Kotomi-chan!"

"Tomoya-kun…" she murmured, her eyes watery as she looked into mine. "…let us get married?"


	3. Progression

**Chapter Three: Progression**

I fell into my chair at school in a daze. Within the last twelve hours – well, sixteen, really – Kotomi had proposed marriage and I had agreed. We also agreed to keep it hush-hush until after graduation.

I must have had an interesting look on my face because when Sunohara sat down between third and fourth period the first words out of his mouth were "You look like a moron."

"Good morning to you, too!" My unintentionally loud reply drew the attention of some of my classmates, including Fujibayashi. "Sorry about that, everyone."

"No problem," grumbled a chorus of classmates.

"What's gotten into you?" Sunohara asked. "You're not happy or something, are you?"

I felt too good to verbally spar with him. "Yeah, I am." I lowered my voice even more as I leaned toward him. "I'll try to not annoy you, if it helps."

"Yeah," he said, giving me a suspicious look. "Thanks."

I smiled and winked at him as I retrieved my books and leaned back in my chair in preparation for the next class.

* * *

"Tomoya-kun…" Kotomi greeted, rising from her cushion as I entered the library.

We stopped a few feet from each other. We hadn't spoken much at breakfast due to the events of last night.

I absently rubbed the back of my neck. "Listen, Kotomi-chan…are you sure about what you said… last night? After all, I'mMMF!"

Kotomi had nearly launched herself at me, planting her lips on mine. The way she kissed me was different than our usual. She seemed almost desperate, kissing me over and over again. Of course it wasn't long before I was returning her affection.

As we finally pulled away from each other, panting, I managed to ask, "I take it you're sure about what you said, then?"

Her cheeks flushed, her breathing labored, she clasped her hands in front of her chest. With tears in her eyes she simply nodded. "I have waited for ten years for this."

"Ten years?!" I did the basic subtraction. "Wait, does that mean you were thinking of marriage when we were…you know?"

She nodded again, solemnly. "I really liked that boy…and…" She blushed fiercely. "…I really, really like the man he's become."

I was at a loss for words, so I did the only thing I could think of: I stepped forward and wrapped her in my arms. But no tears…nope.

Okay, maybe a few.

Once things settled down (though I felt on edge for the rest of lunch) we got out our respective lunches and shared them.

"Halfsies," she said as she handed me half of a cafeteria sandwich. It was funny because she still gasped and blushed when our fingers touched, even after the kiss from earlier.

"I've still been thinking about my situation," I told her between bites. "I still think that I should at least be working toward something while living with you. Especially since…well…"

She nodded with a blushing smile. "You cannot do much while we are still in school, but…" She ducked her head meekly. Man, she was adorable!

"What?" I asked with an amused smile. "Spit it out."

"I…I could…help you…with your studies."

"Of course!" I exclaimed, thinking back to when we first…well, second met. "I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I remember thinking early on about how being tutored by you would…" I looked up as though the words were printed on the ceiling. "…it would draw out my hidden talents, which would really help my grades. Then I would get into the best college and have fun!"

"Oh, Tomoya-kun…" She giggled before becoming serious. "I do not know how much it would help at this point, but I would be willing to tutor you if you would be willing to work."

I thumped my chest. "You can count on me!"

She giggled again at my outburst. "I am glad to see you this happy. Perhaps we could start tonight?"

My heart leaped at the glow of excitement in her eyes. "Sounds great!" was all I could say.

* * *

I hated parabolas. At least I hated them after learning more about them.

Under Kotomi's instruction I'd been trying to graph (x - 2)2 = 8(y + 1) for at least thirty minutes.

"So the vertex is (h, k), which would be… '(2, -1)', right?" I looked over at Kotomi for reassurance.

Purple eyes twinkled with her smile. "Right, and which form of the equation do you derive this from?"

I hated parabolas. "'Standard'? 'Y-intercept' is the y=ax2+bx+c equation, so it's got to be 'standard'."

"Right again, Tomoya-kun." I heard her scoot a little closer. "And what is value of the axis of symmetry?"

"Well, that would have to be the x-value of the vertex in this case, so '2'." I looked over at her again.

Kotomi clapped and scooted even closer, causing me to smile in spite of myself; what was she, a human glacier? "And the directrix?"

Crap. The directrix, the directrix…Let's see, it's the same distance from the vertex as the focus…I have the equation around here…ah! 'y=k-a', so… "-3?"

Scoot, scoot. "Very good, Tomoya-kun." I could practically feel her breath against my face; that was definitely some kind of mint I smelled. "And…A-And…"

I finished writing and looked up. "Yeah? What's the next question, Kotom-"

I found myself looking into beautiful violet-colored eyes. They were so warm and inviting, just like her voice, the softness of her skin as she placed a hand on my cheek. I had a feeling that studies would be done for the night as those violet orbs closed slowly as she leaned toward me, her lips-

Starfish.

STARFISH!

I must have backpedaled pretty fast, because I suddenly found myself out of my chair on my butt on the floor.

"Tomoya-kun!" I couldn't be sure, but Kotomi looked shocked and worried at the same time as she knelt down and put her arms around me. "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head to clear it. What had just happened? "I dunno. I mean, I know we were about to kiss, and a starfish came to mind and I panicked for some reason."

"Starfish?" Kotomi repeated. "Why would you panic over a starfish? Have you been hurt by one?"

I nibbled on the tip of my thumb as she kissed the top of my head repeatedly. "Not that I can remember." I gently slapped my cheeks to clear the last of the fuzziness. "That was weird; it felt like déjà vu."

She said nothing, but looked worriedly at me.

"I think I'm fine," I said, getting to my feet. "Let's get back to work, okay?"

As we went back to parabolas I found it difficult to shake the impression of a young girl with a purple bow in her long, wavy brown hair and a starfish in her hands…


	4. Economic Considerations

**Chapter Four: Economic Considerations**

"Thanks for agreeing to meet with me," Kotomi's guardian said as he gestured to a chair across the table. I really needed to learn the guy's name at some point. "Please, have a seat."

"Thanks," I said as I sat in the proffered seat. "Since you've called me here, I assume you want to talk about Kotomi-chan?"

He chuckled softly. "She still has you call her that, does she?"

I chuckled as well. "Yeah. I've tried to break her of the habit, but I guess she likes it too much; she pouts whenever I just call her 'Kotomi'." I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table between us. "So, what can I do for you?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Well, as you know, I am responsible for everything having to do with the Ichinose's estate as well as their daughter. Everything from her schooling to her finances…I'll tell you though, she hasn't made it easy."

"Her choice to go to Hikarizaka being one example?"

He pointed at me. "Exactly. But it's actually tied to her refusal to leave her parents' home. To be honest, I think she's stuck at the age she was when her parents died. Of course her knowledge has improved, but…"

I blinked; it certainly explained a lot of her childish behaviors. It could have been partly due to being a shut-in of sorts, but his explanation made sense. "It's almost like she's still an eight-year-old emotionally."

He pointed at me again. "Exactly!" He settled back in his chair, straightening his jacket. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about her finances."

That raised some red flags. "Is she in trouble? I can move back out if it would help."

He smiled warmly at me. "See, that's the reason I agreed to let you move in with her in the first place. Well, part of it at least." Before I could ask what he meant he continued. "Her next birthday will be her eighteenth, so control of her parents' holdings will transfer to her. Unfortunately, Miss Ichinose doesn't seem ready for the responsibility of handling her finances, so…" he looked at me meaningfully.

"I got it; you want me to take over her finances since I'm the closest to her, next to you that is."

He pointed at me yet again; it must have been one of his quirks. "Exactly. Do you think you could do it?"

I narrowed my eyes at him as I crossed my arms. "Is this why you approved of my move?"

"No no, not at all! I knew that it would be bad for her to continue living by herself, and you two have a history…and, from what I understand, a future," he finished, winking at me.

"What has she told you about us?"

He steepled his fingers as he leaned on the table. "From what I could tell, everything from your childhood together up to her proposal of marriage just recently." At my shocked expression he explained. "We've been getting along a lot better as of late." His eyes crinkled at his smile. "So? Did you accept her proposal?"

I figured since Kotomi had told him I could too. "Absolutely," I answered with a smile. "But we're keeping it secret until after graduation. We haven't even set a date for the wedding, yet."

"Might want to get on that; she's loved you for a long time…"

"Since she was eight, I know," I tried to interrupt politely. "It's just that I'm getting used to living at her place, fixing my messed-up schedule, and trying to get caught up in my studies."

He shrugged. "Well, consider that one more thing for your plate. Oh, and don't worry," he winked, "your secret's safe with me."

* * *

My mind reeled as I walked home from the restaurant. In the end, Mr. Norito (I finally learned his name) showed me Kotomi's finances. My eyes had bugged out at how big the numbers were. Apparently Kotomi's parents still received royalties for the many things they had patented. If she spent wisely, Kotomi would never have to work a day in her life. Knowing her though, she'd want one or both of us working to contribute to society in some way, like her parents had.

I knew that Kotomi had the knowledge and ability to benefit humanity and make a truckload of money by continuing her parents' research. I, on the other hand…I sighed.

"Tomoya!" I heard a happy voice call out. I looked to confirm the source …Oh man, I really didn't have time for this crap.

Kyou and Fujibayashi stood a surprisingly short distance away; surprising in that I'd normally have seen them already. I must have been in really deep thought. Of course Fujibayashi wasn't a problem, but Kyou…

"Fancy seeing you out and about!" Kyou chirped as she and her sister approached me. "What'cha doing?"

I couldn't think of a convincing lie so I told the truth: "I was at a meeting."

Kyou's eyes widened. "Ooo! What kind of meeting?" she licked her lips. "Did you and Kotomi meet at a love hotel? Tell me all about it!"

"Onee-chan!" Fujibayashi protested.

"We didn't meet at a love hotel! Jeez, Kyou!"

Kyou brought herself uncomfortably close as she lay a hand on my shoulder. "That's okay, I understand; you're trying to keep it a secret. For her benefit."

"Well, it's true that I'm keeping it secret…" I realized. "Wait, it's still not what you think!"

She gave me a sly smile as I looked to Fujibayashi to rescue me; the poor girl could only give me an apologetic look. "Well, since you can't tell me what it is, I'm just going to have to guess, right?"

"You don't even have to guess!"

She drew closer and I my skin tingled as I felt her breath on my ear. "Is it another woman? C'mon, I won't tell."

I backed away from her, letting her hand drop from my shoulder. "It's not another woman! Knock it off!"

Kyou laughed. "God, Tomoya, you're so gullible!" I saw a flicker of an expression I'd never seen before. "That's what makes you so much fun to hang out with!"

"O-Onee-chan!"

"All right, all right, I'll stop teasing him, Ryou."

I ended up dragged around the town again, carrying bags for the girls and cursing my spinelessness again. Kotomi was going to worry if I was out too late.

Finally, Kyou finished having her fun with me, and I carried the bags up to the front door of her home. "Ryou and I can take them from here," she said. "Unless you'd like to carry mine to my room."

"No thank you," I huffed.

That weird look flickered across her face again before she followed her more apologetic sister inside, closing the door on me.


	5. Transitions

**Chapter Five: Transitions**

"Tomoya-kun, where have you been?" I half-expected Kotomi to be standing at the front door with an angry expression and her fists on her hips. However, this was Kotomi, so she instead had a worried look on her face and her hands folded in front of her chest. "It is very late!"

I held up my hands in defeat. "I'm sorry Kotomi-chan; Kyou and her sister got hold of me before I got home and dragged me all over town again."

"'Again'?" she repeated. "They have done this before?"

"A few times," I admitted. "I just don't know how to tell her 'no'."

"Well…" Kotomi was clearly in thought. "Since you were helping a friend, then it is no problem." A noticeable pause as she gazed at me. "Oh! Come inside; you must be cold out here!"

Truth was, I was fine. But I was really glad to be home. I said nothing as I entered the Ichinose home though I did give her a hug, earning a squeak from my fiancée. "T-Tomoya-kun…"

"Yeah?" Still holding her, I looked down into those beautiful eyes.

She looked at me as though she was trying to memorize every detail of my face. Finally, she said, "I love you so much."

The warmth from my heart spread to my face. "Thanks, Kotomi-chan. I love you, too."

She reluctantly released me. "I have saved dinner for us."

"'Us'? You haven't eaten yet?"

She shook her head. "I could not eat without you here to share the meal."

It seemed a little silly to me but I understood her well enough to be touched. "Thanks a lot, really. Now I'm really sorry for getting back late."

She laid a hand on my chest before jerking it back with another squeak. "D-Do not worry about it. I am happy that you are here now." She angled her head with a soft smile. "Are you hungry?"

"Famished," I replied. "If Kyou had let me go any later, I probably would've starved to death."

She giggled softly. "Then I am glad you were released on time."

* * *

After dinner we did our usual evening activity, though we had to cut it short due to the time: Studies to get me caught up in school. We had talked about the possibility of 'testing out' of my first- and second-year classes to make up for lost time, but neither of us had been able to figure out whom to talk to first.

I finally committed to one teacher in particular: "I think Koumura-sensei would be the best choice. He's the one who got Sunohara and me together."

"But Sunohara-kun has not been the best influence on your life," she countered. "With respect, I am not sure he would be the right one to talk to."

"I think I understand what you're saying, but…" I was having a hard time figuring out how to get her to see it the way that I was. "Look, if he hadn't put the two of us together, I think I would have dropped out of school entirely. So Sunohara and I kinda gave each other a reason to go to school, even if it was just to cause trouble for each other."

"I do not understand just yet, but-"

"Just hear me out. By putting us together he kept us – well, at least me – from dropping out of school. It sounds to me like he understood us pretty well." I leaned back as she gasped. "Yeah. And that's why I think he's the best one to go to; I can trust him because he took care of two dumbass students."

Kotomi blinked several times as she considered my words. For all of her genius and knowledge, her understanding of human relations was still…lacking.

Finally she spoke: "I admit that I have a hard time following your logic, but since I do not have a better idea…" she looked at me with her usual affectionate smile. "I will support you in your decision."

Her faith in me was a little overwhelming. "Thanks, Kotomi-chan. I can't tell you how much that means to me." I leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the nose, causing her to squeak yet again and rub at her nose.

"Aw, you'll wipe the kiss off," I teased.

She froze for a moment before she saw the expression on my face and started rubbing again. "You are teasing me."

"Yes, I am," I admitted before picking up one of my schoolbooks. "I'd better head to bed pretty soon; I have some studying to do, so I'll do that first. Do you need me for anything before I go?"

For a moment I thought I saw her eyes widen…must have been my imagination. "No, but…I do have one request."

"What's that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

* * *

"This seems awfully cramped," I complained. "Are you sure you have enough room?"

Kotomi had joined me in my room, sitting in her usual 'w-style' on the foot of my bed. "I have plenty of room, Tomoya-kun."

I felt really uncomfortable with the idea of both of us on my bed, so… "I'll just… sit here on the floor."

I started to slide off of the bed, but she grabbed my arm. "Do not go."

I blinked at her. "I'm not leaving the room, I'm just gonna sit on the floor."

"Do not go…please."

I saw the earnestness in her eyes and immediately caved. "All right, all right..." I slid back on to my bed as far away from her as I could and sat cross-legged; I took the pillow and propped it up against my legs, acting as a barrier of sorts between the two of us.

I really didn't get much studying done that night. Kotomi, engrossed as she was in her reading, didn't seem to have any problems. I, on the other hand, was a bundle of nerves; a boy and a girl who liked each other, sitting on the same bed? I felt like I was asking for trouble.


	6. Aggression

**Chapter Six: Aggression**

I fell into my chair at school in a daze. Sleep hadn't come easily to me last night; I guess Kotomi-chan being in my room had me on edge more than I thought. Maybe it was time to make another rule… 'No Kotomis in Tomoya's bedroom'.

I snorted at the thought as I heard Sunohara plop down in the desk next to mine. He looked at me cautiously. "You're not happy again, are you?"

"Don't worry," I chuckled. "I'm too tired to be happy today."

"Good. You coming over after school? I'm borrowing something that'll make my room Utra-Cyber!" I could even hear the capitalization of his words.

"No thanks," I replied. "After school I'm taking a nap and then hitting the books-" Crap. I was so tired that the words came out before I could stop them.

Sunohara narrowed his eyes at me. "'Hitting the books'? You're not studying for school, are you?"

I had to drag my brain through the fog to come up with something quickly. "Why would I do that? I mean…" C'mon you stupid brain… "I-I use them for boxing practice." I tapped my fists together. "Good for strengthening the knuckles."

"Really?" As usual, he swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. "Maybe I should try that."

"Hardcover books, of course," I added. "Headbutting them toughens your noggin, too." I then watched with mild amusement as he picked up one of our heavier textbooks and gave it a few experimental taps against his forehead. "You have to headbutt it harder than that to get good results," I offered.

As he worked on his cranial durability I yawned and looked out the window and thought of Kotomi's smile.

* * *

"Ugh…Kyou-chan…"

As I approached the library, I heard voices and realized that Kyou had gotten to her first. Apparently she had taken to checking my girlfriend for a tail again.

"For a girl who spends so much time reading, you sure have a nice figure," Kyou was crooning.

"Kyou-chan…I told you that I do not have a tail…"

"I can see what Tomoya sees in you; you're so passive…and aggressive where it counts."

As I heard Kotomi whimpering a switch flipped in my head.

Kyou is molesting my fiancée.

Kyou is molesting my fiancée?

KYOU IS MOLESTING MY KOTOMI-CHAN!

I grabbed the library door and slammed it open, causing both girls to jump. "Kyou!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "What the hell are you doing to my girlfriend?!"

"Tomoya-kun!"

The love and relief in Kotomi's eyes barely registered as I focused my fury on her attacker. "Kyou…let go of her. Now."

To her credit, Kyou regained her composure almost immediately. "Aw, it's okay Tomoya; haven't I told you that friends do this kind of thing?"

It was really weird; in spite of my fatigue, my mind felt sharper than ever. "Really? So when did you molest Furukawa?"

That seemed to catch her off-guard. "Huh?"

"Is Furukawa your friend?"

Kyou narrowed her eyes at me. "Well, yeah! What do you think?"

I took a deep breath. "I haven't heard of you grabbing Furukawa like this. Why is that?"

"I-"

"You say that this is normal for friends, so why is it that you've hit on me and molested Kotomi-chan? I bet if I asked your sister she'd say that you've never done this to Furukawa!"

Finally, Kyou let go of my fiancée and faced me. "I-I've done this to Nagisa!"

"Well, I haven't seen it!"

"I-I have not seen it, either," Kotomi squeaked, covering her chest.

"We haven't seen it, either," came an unexpected yet familiar voice. I turned to see Fujibayashi and Furukawa standing at the entrance behind me.

"Ryou-chan…Nagisa-chan…"

"Good timing." I was on a roll. "Furukawa; has Kyou ever touched your chest or your…bottom the way she has Kotomi-chan's?"

Furukawa's face paled and I was afraid she would pass out; I knew about her health condition, even though I didn't know all the details. She managed to answer, though. "N-No, Okazaki-san; she hasn't."

"Okazaki-kun…?"

I whirled on a bewildered Kyou. "Well?" I barked as I gestured to Kotomi to come to me.

She stiffened as she watched Kotomi scoot my way. "Well what?"

"What do you have to say for yourself? 'All friends do this!'," I said, imitating her tone. "Isn't it past time for you to cop a feel on Furukawa? Maybe Nishina? She and Kotomi-chan get along well; maybe you could initiate her into your circle of friends!"

Even though I was furious I still managed to be surprised when Kyou exploded. "You know what? Fine! I won't touch your woman ever again! What's the matter, idiot? Are you afraid that I might be competition?" She stomped up to me and thrust her reddened faced to mine. "I-I should flatten you!"

Wait; did she just stutter?

"Onee-chan, settle down, please!" Fujibayashi begged.

Kyou glared at me a moment more before sending her fist into my stomach. It didn't hurt much, but it did knock the wind out of me. I heard her stomp out of the library as I fell to my knees. Fortunately Kotomi caught my arm before I could fall on my face. "Tomoya-kun!"

Surprisingly I felt someone grab my other arm, and I looked up into Fujibayashi's worried face. "Okazaki-kun?"

I lifted a hand and nodded to try to tell her I was okay, but my stomach wasn't quite ready to push the air out to help form words. Between the two of them Kotomi and Fujibayashi managed to get me into one of the library's many chairs. If I could have, I would have laughed at the way they were both fussing over me.

"Tomoya-kun…are you okay?"

More surprising was Fujibayashi's reaction. "Onee-chan…how could you do this…?" Her voice had en edge to it I'd never heard before. "You love him, and yet-" Wait, what? Unfortunately I still couldn't catch enough breath to ask as she looked over my shoulder. "Nagisa-san, could you help Kotomi-chan take care of him? I need to go talk to my sister."

"Of course," Furukawa replied.

My eyes widened at Fujibayashi's tone of voice; she sounded furious. She was usually such a calm person, so to hear her like this…I actually started to worry about Kyou.


	7. More Surprises

**Chapter Seven: More Surprises**

Nagisa found Kotomi and me as we wandered a random hallway, searching for the twins.

"They're behind the school," she said breathlessly. "Hurry, Okazaki-san!"

I ran as fast as I could with Kotomi in tow, and we hurried to the park-like area behind the school. Sure enough, we found the two of them there. It looked like Fujibayashi was giving her sister a good old-fashioned scolding.

As we got closer we could make out what was being said.

"Onee-chan, why are you acting like this? It's not like you!"

Kyou, for her part, had her arms crossed and was apparently not giving any answers.

Fujibayashi noticed us and turned our way. "Okazaki-kun; this really isn't a good time."

I lifted a hand to stop her. "I'm sorry if we're interrupting. We just wanted to make sure you two were okay."

"Oh, now you're worried about me!" Kyou snapped. "You didn't seem so concerned a little while ago!"

"Onee-chan…"

"Tell me the truth; you've come to rub my nose in it some more, haven't you?"

"Onee-chan!"

"Well, you and little Miss Perfect can just go to hell!"

"KYOU!"

I think all of us froze at the sound of that voice. We all turned as one to a furious and furiously blushing Fujibayashi. We had never heard her call her sister by her first name.

"Ryou-chan…?" I could barely hear Kotomi's worried voice through my shock.

We received a further shock as Fujibayashi marched up to her sister and slapped her hard. "How dare you treat Tomo-kun like that! Don't you love him?"

I suddenly felt very lightheaded. 'Tomo-kun?' 'Love'? I felt like I had stepped into an anime. Or a visual novel. Or an anime of a visual novel.

Fujibayashi wasn't done, though. "Why don't you just admit it? You love him!" She grabbed Kyou and forced her to face me. "Tell him!"

"N-No," Kyou protested weakly.

"Tell him, Kyou!"

"I can't…"

"Then you're a coward," the younger twin spat. "I'll show you how it's done." She let go of her older twin and marched up to me this time. I flinched, expecting a slap, but instead she spoke to my fiancée. "Please forgive me, Kotomi-chan."

Kotomi shook her head. "For what?"

In response, Fujibayashi threw her arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek. "I love you, Tomo-kun."

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, considering what Kyou had told me before; I guess it was how quickly it happened as well as Fujibayashi's behavior that gave it the surprise. I looked to Kotomi for support, but she could only stand there with a look of surprise and tears in her eyes. So I returned my gaze to Fujibayashi. "I…I don't know what to say…"

"You say 'I'm sorry that I can't return your feelings, because I'm already with someone I love'."

I looked at her, completely stunned. Where had all that courage come from? Cowardly Kyou, Courageous Ryou…I felt like I was in some kind of bizzaro world.

Regardless, I had to give a response and hers seemed right. "I'm sorry that I can't return your feelings, because I'm already with someone I love."

Tears formed in her eyes as she smiled softly. "Thank you for being so kind in your rejection, Okazaki-kun." She released me and turned to Kotomi. "Please take good care of him," she said as she wrapped her in a hug.

Kotomi had tears in her eyes as well as she awkwardly returned the embrace. "I will do my best, Ryou-chan. I am sorry for getting in your way."

Fujibayashi giggled as she released her dear friend. "Don't be sorry, Kotomi-chan. You're an amazing girl who's had a rough life; you deserve to be happy."

Kotomi could only nod in response.

Fujibayashi turned from the two of us and made her way back to her sister, who stood there statue-like. "That's how you do it," she said with something almost like contempt. Then she walked off, leaving Kyou, Furukawa, Kotomi-chan, and me as a stunned quartet.

We all looked at Kyou, who was staring at me with a sad expression. "Kyou-chan…" I heard Kotomi-chan say sadly.

That seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she was in. "Huh?" She seemed to remember where she was and really see us. "Um…" she glanced up at each of us in turn, ending with… "Kotomi…chan? Could I talk to your boyfriend for a minute? Alone?" At Kotomi's suspicious look she quickly added, "I won't do anything bad to him, I promise."

Kyou was many things but she wasn't a liar, so when Kotomi looked to me with a lost expression I said, "It'll be okay, Kotomi-chan."

Kotomi nodded and let Furukawa lead her far enough away that she could see us but not hear what was being said.

Kyou watched them until they stopped then turned her attention to me. She brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. "Listen Tomoya…I've been…a real bitch to you."

I said nothing; I didn't think a retort would help anything and, frankly, she had surprised me with her admission.

She stepped closer to me and looked up into my face as though she was studying it. Then she shook her head with a light chuckle and a small smile. "You really are clueless when it comes to women, aren't you?"

I carefully considered my reply. "It seems like it, yeah."

Her lower lip trembled as her eyes moistened. Her voice shook as she spoke: "Just to be clear, Ryou was right. I do love you, Tomoya…you idiot."

"I'm sorry that I can't-"

"Save it," she interrupted, holding up a hand. "I know. Kotomi won and I lost. I lost because of my cowardice."

I licked my lips. "What I don't understand is…if you felt this way about me, why did you treat me so…so badly?"

Kyou glanced at the ground between us briefly before returning her uncertain gaze to me. "You really want to know?"

Not trusting my words I simply nodded.

She sighed heavily. "I…started liking you after Ryou did. I didn't want my feelings to get in her way, so…" She looked at me meaningfully.

"Did you cover your real feelings by treating me badly, then?"

It was Kyou's turn to simply nod.

When I thought about it, it made sense. Kyou would treat me badly to keep a distance between us. But she would make me buy stuff for her for that…connection?

"I won't treat you like that anymore," I heard her say. "I…I just can't do it anymore." Like her sister before her, she came up to me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me on the other cheek. "I love you, Tomoya." After a pause she added: "I guess you can say it now."

I had to swallow a lump just to speak. "I-I'm sorry Kyou; I can't return your feelings. I'm already in love with someone."

Kyou just nodded as the tears spilled over her cheeks. "Would you hold me, just this once? That's all I'll ask, I promise."

I knew that she was still good to her word, so I put my arms around her and gently held her as she cried softly into my chest. With my eyes I tried to signal to Furukawa to bring Kotomi back over. To my relief she understood and brought a distressed Kotomi back toward us.

When she heard Kyou's sobs, however, her irritation immediately turned to tears and she reached out and gently – lovingly, maybe? – caressed Kyou's back. "Oh Kyou-chan, I am so sorry."

Kyou lifted up her head from my chest and, seeing Kotomi, let go of me and reached out to her, still sobbing.

I backed away to a respectful distance as Furukawa took charge, and I watched, impressed, as the normally shy and weak-willed Furukawa became the strong support that the two weeping girls needed.


	8. Friendship

**Chapter Eight: Friendship**

Kotomi was quiet the next morning, which didn't surprise me at all. Yesterday had been rough on everyone, and I didn't know how everyone would act toward each other, myself included. After all, I had just found out that both of the twins loved me; how was I supposed to act toward them after finding that out?

My main concern was Kotomi, though. I really didn't know how she would take the twins' actions towards me. Would she withdraw into her shell again? Would she lose them as friends? Or worse, would she force them to listen to her play the violin?

We walked to school side-by-side, our shoulders occasionally brushing against each other. At least she didn't seem upset at me over the situation.

"Tomoya-kun…" she said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

She gave a longish pause before continuing. "I do not know what to do. I understand that I do not have to worry about Kyou-chan or Ryou-chan trying to take you away from me, but I still feel…afraid."

"What're you afraid of, then?"

She shook her head vigorously enough to send her pigtails flapping. "I do not know what I will say to them when I see them."

I exhaled noisily between my lips. "That's a problem even so-called 'normal' people have." I looked over at her, catching her gaze. "All you can really do is just be…what's the word? Kind? Compassionate? Something like that." I gestured to her. "Put yourself in their shoes and think about what you would want if you confessed to someone else's boyfriend."

Kotomi's eyes lost focus, so I looked ahead to make sure that she didn't run into anything while she ran her simulation.

* * *

We stopped to part ways by Kotomi's classroom, 3-A. I wanted to walk her to her desk, but I would've felt really uncomfortable as a delinquent around all of the star pupils. "Will you be okay?" I asked.

She nodded, though she didn't seem too sure of herself. "I think so." An awkward pause. "May I come to you if there is a problem?"

I sighed. "Yeah, but don't overdo it. I'm already in trouble with my teachers, and I don't want to make it worse if I can help it."

She nodded again. "Tomoya-kun…"

"Yeah?"

She looked into my eyes for a brief moment before hopping up onto her tiptoes to give me a quick peck on the cheek. "I love you so much," I heard her whisper.

I smiled and mouthed "I love you", bringing a smile to her face as she turned to enter her classroom.

She managed to stay out of 3-D all morning.

* * *

However, she was waiting outside my classroom door, bag in hand, when the teacher finally let us out for lunch. "Tomoya-kun…"

"Kotomi-chan…" I said, echoing her tone.

She recognized my attempt at an imitation and looked annoyed; she was so cute. "You are teasing me."

"Yes, I am." I reached out for her hand. "If it really bothers you that much, I'll stop. Really."

I was surprised to see a blush tint her cheeks as she took my hand. "I…I like it when you tease me…sometimes."

My eyebrows jumped. "You don't seem to like it."

She somehow managed to fidget as we walked. "I like that you are paying attention to me. It makes me feel…" she looked away bashfully. "…special."

I stopped her just outside the back doors to hug her. "Well…that's because…" C'mon Casanova, say it. "That's because you are special to me."

Her reaction was adorable, as usual: She buried her face in my chest with a squeak. "T-Tomoya-kun!"

I chuckled softly. "So, are we eating in the Club room today?"

"I would like to," her muffled voice sounded from my chest.

"All right," I said, peeling her off me so we could start walking. "Let's not waste any time, then!"

We rounded the last corner before the Theater Club's room and nearly ran into… "Oh. Um…Hello, Okazaki-kun."

Before us stood the Fujibayashi twins. In the back of my mind I was relieved to see them together considering the way they had treated each other yesterday. On the other hand, they overall had a great relationship as twin sisters, so it should have been able to survive a few small bumps. Or a couple of big ones. "H-Hey, you two," I managed to say.

"Hi," Kyou said quietly.

I noticed that Kotomi wasn't saying anything so I continued our side of the conversation. "Having lunch in the club room?"

Fujibayashi nodded. "We were just going back to the cafeteria to pick up a couple of things we forgot." She awkwardly pointed behind herself. "If you would be willing to wait, Nagisa-san will be along soon and we can eat together."

I looked to Kotomi for any expression of an opinion; I could tell from the look on her face that she wanted to eat with her friends, but was nervous about the idea. So I turned back to the twins. "Sure, we'll wait for you."

It was still weird hearing Fujibayashi make the arrangements with us while the typically outgoing twin stood by silently; maybe when things settled down they would go back to normal.

I was lightly caressing Kotomi's back while she blushed when the twins returned with a bag and Furukawa. "Okazaki-san! Kotomi-chan! Hi!" she greeted. I kinda liked how she would always greet someone as though she hadn't seen them for a long time.

"Furukawa, good to see you again," I greeted in return.

I felt the pressure on my fingers stop, and I looked to see Kotomi-chan rising from the table bench. "Nagisa-chan; good afternoon." With obvious hesitation, she turned toward the twins. "Kyou-chan; good afternoon. Ryou-chan; good afternoon," she greeted, bowing to each of them.

Both of the twins smiled with trembling lips. "Kotomi-chan; g-good afternoon," Fujibayashi greeted.

Kyou opted for a different greeting. She carefully approached my fiancée and wrapped her in a hug. "Kotomi-chan; good afternoon," she greeted while Fujibayashi and Furukawa looked on with smiles.

At first Kotomi didn't know how to respond. Then, slowly, she wrapped her arms around her friend, awkwardly patting Kyou on the back.

I knew the two of them had a long road ahead, but I believed that everything was on its way to being okay.


	9. Anxiety

**Chapter Nine: Anxiety**

During lunch in the library Kotomi suddenly grabbed onto me, pressing the side of her face against my chest. "Mine."

Her sudden declaration surprised me. "Yeah, that's right; yours. What brought this on?"

She looked up at me. "Well, Kyou-chan and Ryou-chan both confessed their love to you. What if there are other girls?"

I smiled as I laid a hand on top of her head. "There aren't any other girls, Kotomi-chan."

Her gaze didn't waver. "Did you think that before Kyou-chan and Ryou-chan confessed?"

"Well of course! I had no idea that-" I stopped as I realized what I was saying. "Oh." Damn her logic.

Kotomi nodded solemnly. "And Nagisa-chan has been close to you, as well."

"That's true…"

"What if she likes you, too?"

My eyes widened. I had never considered that before. What if she did? How would I handle that? Her 'weak body' might make rejection catastrophic in her case.

Not only that, but if girls like Kyou and Fujibayashi could like me, what about other girls? I didn't mean to be prideful; I just hadn't considered the possibility. Up until I started hanging out with Kotomi I hadn't had any interest in dating or anything of the sort. I just wanted to sleep my way through school and then accept whatever life threw at me after that. I was glad to have been reunited with my dear friend, but…

"Tomoya-kun?"

I looked down into my fiancée's worried face and gave her the best answer I could give: I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a squeeze. "Yours."

* * *

After school we met up with Nagisa and the twins in the Drama Club room. We talked about nothing in particular until it started getting noticeably dark.

We made our way along our usual path at our usual pace until we came to the place where we would normally part ways.

Of course, Kotomi had to go through her routine: "Kyou-chan, see you tomorrow."

"I miss you already," Kyou replied with a smile. It was good to see that they were getting along better. "See you tomorrow."

"Ryou-chan, see you tomorrow."

"Kotomi-chan, see you tomorrow," Fujibayashi replied while giving her a quick hug. Those two already got along well, and I guessed that their recent experience had somehow brought them even closer. I'd never understand women.

"Nagisa-chan, see you tomorrow."

"Kotomi-chan, see you tomorrow," Furukawa replied, also giving her a big smile and a hug.

Wanting to move things along I simply said, "See you tomorrow, everyone."

The twins looked at each other, smiled, and in a break from tradition, each of them grabbed one of my arms and squeezed it. I heard "See ya, Tomoya!" and "See you tomorrow, Okazaki-kun!" at nearly the same time. Then they left, Kyou back toward the school for her bike and Ryou for the bus station, leaving me, Furukawa, and a very flustered Kotomi behind.

I noticed Kotomi's distressed state and smiled at her "Sorry about that, Kotomi-chan; I didn't know they were going to do that." I was then surprised to feel one of my arms being taken and gently squeezed, and I turned wide eyes to find Furukawa holding my arm.

She looked up at me with equally wide eyes. "I-Is this okay? Kyou-chan and Ryou-chan did it, s-so I thought-"

"N-Nagisa-chan; P-Please release m-m-my f-f-f-my boyfriend's arm!" Kotomi protested, having resumed her prior flustered state.

Furukawa looked at my arm as though she wondered how it had gotten there. "Oh! O-Of course!" she stammered as she quickly released it. "I'm sorry!"

I wasn't sure who to comfort first, but since Kotomi and I would be walking together… "Say 'Hi' to your parents for me, Furukawa."

"S-Sure!"

As Furukawa headed for home at a faster pace than usual, I shook my head with a smile as I turned back to Kotomi. "I'm really sorry about that, Kotomi-chan; I didn't expect Furukawa to-" My blood ran cold as the possibility hit me: _"What if she likes you, too?"_

I rubbed my face vigorously with one hand as I wrapped the other arm around Kotomi's narrow shoulders and pulled her to me. "Everything's going to be okay. It'll all be okay."

I didn't know whether I was trying to convince her or myself.

* * *

For dinner Kotomi really wanted us to stop at his one family-style restaurant. Apparently she had planned this for a while: "I wanted to make this like a date, Tomoya-kun."

With her shy glances and awkward posture…man, she was cute! I gave in immediately.

As we entered the restaurant she started looking around as though she was looking for somebody. It turned out my theory was correct, as she moved toward a table where a man sat with most of his body hidden behind a newspaper.

My blood ran cold for the second time that day when he lowered the paper. "Ah, Kotomi-chan. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

"D-Dad?" What the hell was he doing here? "What the hell are you doing-"

"Ah, Tomoya. It's been a while." Wait…'Tomoya'?

I looked at Kotomi in disbelief. "K-Kotomi-chan? How could you…"

"Tomoya-kun," she looked at me with an intensity I'd never seen before. "I am an orphan. I have no father anymore."

I wasn't sure what she was getting at. Did she want my dad to adopt her? That would make our wedding problematic, if not impossible.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized: She wants me to get along with my dad again. The last words she spoke to her parent were hateful ones. They may have known that she didn't mean them, but still…

And she didn't want my relationship with my dad to end on a sad note like hers.

I looked over at my dad. My dad.

My dad?

Suddenly, something flipped in my perception, like when the eye doctor switches between lenses when testing your vision; all of a sudden, Dad looked…different.

I reached out my hand and took his. "Yeah…it's been too long…Dad."

He smiled, a real smile. "Would you be willing to eat with me? It's been a long time."

I looked from Kotomi's teary eyes to my dad's gentle, kind eyes. "Sure. I'd like that."


	10. A Warm Meal

**Chapter Ten: A Warm Meal**

"So," Dad started, folding his hands together as he leaned forward on the table. "How have you been adjusting to your new home?"

I cautiously glanced over at Kotomi, who gave me her usual encouraging smile. "It's been…different. It's taken some getting used to; getting on a new schedule so I don't miss school, having a new route to memorize – well, I guess there really isn't much to memorize, since Kotomi-chan and I walk to school and home together." I couldn't look my dad in the eye as I finished that thought.

"So things have been getting better for you?"

I mulled his question over for a bit. "Yeah. My attendance has improved, my grades have improved…" Outside of Dad's sight, I gently squeezed Kotomi' hand. "…and I get to see my best friend every day." I nodded as I thought a bit more. "Yeah, I've got it pretty good right now."

He smiled a gentle smile. "I'm glad to hear that, Tomoya. Please don't think that I'm boasting, but I had a feeling something like this would happen if I let you move out."

"Why did you let me move out? I mean, I heard what you just said, but you couldn't have known that this would happen."

"True." He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "I knew that you and Kotomi-chan were friends back when you were younger, and the Ichinoses weren't unknown around here. And…" He looked like he was uncomfortable with what he was about to say. "…I believed that she would be a good influence on you. Much better than your blonde friend, and better than I have been." He leaned forward again. "Remember, she has been through a lot, so she is a strong girl." He seemed to catch himself. "Forgive me, Kotomi-chan; I don't mean to talk about you as though you're not here."

"It is okay," she said. "Thank you for your kind words."

He smiled at her before returning his gaze to me. "So when she came to me with the suggestion that you move in with her, I agreed that it would be best. I normally don't agree with young men and women living together, but I also know that the two of you have come from unusual circumstances and you already have a history."

I looked over at Kotomi with an embarrassed smile. "Even though I managed to forget it all."

She smiled at me affectionately. "I am just glad that you did eventually remember me."

"Me too," I grunted.

"So…" Dad said, interrupting my thoughts. "…do you two have any plans for marriage?"

My face fell. "Did you tell him, too?" I asked Kotomi.

"She hasn't told me anything," he said with another gentle smile. "The way you look at each other speaks volumes."

Kotomi and I looked at each other and, if the burning sensation in my face was any indicator, I was blushing just as much as she was. "We…have talked about it," I admitted. "We just haven't set a date, yet."

"We wish to wait at least until after graduation," Kotomi added.

"Ideally, I'd like to have a job lined up, too," I said.

"Tomoya-kun, my parents still receive royalties from their patents."

"I understand that," I countered. "But this is not about just the money. It's also about me being a responsible member of society."

"You may not understand this, Kotomi-chan," Dad interjected, "but we men need to be able to provide for others. It's one of the things we are made to do."

I watched the gears turn in Kotomi's lovely head once again. "That is consistent with what I have read, though I do not understand it."

"I believe it will make more sense when you have children," my dad suggested, then smiled as Kotomi and I blushed again; I think he secretly enjoyed that. "In any case, Tomoya is correct; your parents' royalties will only take you so far. One or both of you will need employment to supplement that income."

'Well," I grunted, "Kotomi shouldn't have any problems there; she could teach college before she even attends it."

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi protested.

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" I leaned back and crossed my arms. "I'm the weak link in this relationship when it comes to employment ability."

"But…but you are more than that…"

"I understand that, but most employers aren't going to see me that way." I then remembered that we weren't alone. "Sorry Dad; I didn't mean to argue in front of you."

"I am sorry as well," Kotomi added.

Dad shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm actually glad to see that you two care enough to work through your problems rather than bottle them up."

"Well," Kotomi said while smiling at my dad, "I love Tomoya-kun very much."

"Yeah, I don't want anything to come between us," I added. I looked over at her with a smile of my own. "I want her to be able to smile all the time."

* * *

Kotomi was awfully quiet on the way home as she stared at the road and it was starting to worry me. "You okay?"

"Huh?" she looked up at me like she just realized I was there. "Oh! I am sorry, Tomoya-kun; I was thinking."

"I can see that," I said. "Looks like whatever you're thinking about is really bothering you."

She stopped suddenly, still looking at the ground, and I stopped with her. "Tomoya-kun…I want to marry you."

I blinked. "Yeah, I know; I want to marry you, too. We talked about this bef-"

"No, no," she interrupted, shaking her head. "I do not want to wait anymore." She looked up at me with watery eyes. "I have been waiting for so long."

"What do you mean?" I protested. "We only talked about this a couple of weeks…ago…?" I trailed off as I remembered… _"I have waited for ten years for this."_ A wry smile spread across my face. "I guess you  have been waiting for a while, haven't you?"

She nodded wordlessly.

I sighed. "Well, I still think we should wait until graduation, but I guess that doesn't mean we can't set a date." I leveled my gaze at her. "You understand that this means the others will know."

She nodded tearfully as she trembled.

I chuckled softly as I gathered her into my arms. "Okay, Kotomi-chan; when we get home we'll set a date."

She didn't answer, at least not with words. The mind-blowing kiss she gave told me all I needed to know.


	11. Planning

**Chapter Eleven: Planning**

Kotomi became a whirlwind after that: When she came back from her next round of the bookstores she had books and magazines on wedding dresses, wedding food, wedding decorations, wedding vacations…

And all of this for our wedding: Sunday, June 15.

"Tomoya-kun! Tomoya-kun! What do you think of this one?" Kotomi would ask excitedly while showing me a page out of a magazine. The pages were filled with all different kinds of dresses. "What do you think of this one?"

"I-I think they all look good," I'd reply. "Really."

Then she would get this cute pout. "Tomoya-kun, do you not care about our wedding?"

Finally, it got to the point where I had to address it more directly.

"Kotomi-chan, the truth is; I don't care which dress you pick. They all look good, but I'm not marrying the dress." I gently took hold of her slim shoulder so I could look into her eyes. "I'm marrying the girl."

Her blush was adorable. "But…but…it is important to me."

"I understand that it's important to you, but I can't help you if I don't think the way you do." I suddenly had an idea. Kinda risky, but… "Why don't you show this to Fujibayashi and Furukawa?"

"I could do that." She appeared to consider the idea. "What about Kyou-chan?"

I shook my head. "She's a little too…domineering for something like this. I really think she'd be more likely to put you in something that she'd want to wear."

She nodded thoughtfully as her eyes lost focus. "I-I could see that happening." She looked up at me again. "Would you be angry if I consulted with her anyway?"

"Consult with Kyou? No, not really. But I'd be concerned about whether you'd be happy with the result." I shrugged. "This supposed to be your day after all. I'm just concerned that if you let her help, she'll just take over."

"I could see that," she said, nodding thoughtfully again. "I would hate to leave her out of it, but…"

"Well, whatever you decide, I'll do my best to support you," I finished, giving her a hug, which she returned.

"Tomoya-kun…" Hoo boy; she was looking intently at me again.

I smiled as I gave in, leaning down to gently kiss the love of my life.

* * *

"…so, I am asking you to help me with my planning." Kotomi finished with a bow.

I watched, amused, as three jaws hit the floor. "W-wedding?!" They all stammered, nearly in unison.

"W-Well," Fujibayashi stammered.

"I-I would love to!" Furukawa blurted.

We then turned our eyes to Kyou. I was surprised; I had expected her to not only answer first, but offer to…well, basically take over the planning.

It took me a moment to realize that she was glaring at me. "You're thinking that I'd try to take over the planning, weren't you?"

I was about to say "Nah, that's just your imagination" but I was tired of lying. "Yeah, I was."

Her shoulders slumped. "Well, you're probably right." She looked over at Kotomi. "Are you sure you want my help? You know how I am."

Kotomi squared her shoulders. "As long as you understand that it is my wedding…" At that point I think she ran out of courage. "Kyou-chan, you are very caring, and I like that about you. You also know many things that I do not."

Kyou blinked stupidly. "Th-Thanks." She looked to me. "You okay with this?"

"No, not really," I answered frankly. "I'm still concerned that you'll try to make this 'your wedding', but if she trusts you enough to ask you, then I support her decision."

Kyou angled her head at me. "You've changed, haven't you?" She sighed with a sad smile. "I am such a coward."

"Onee-chan…?" Fujibayashi worriedly looked over at her sister.

"Kyou-chan?" Furukawa's tone was an echo of the younger twin.

Kyou seemed to remember where she was and shook herself. "If you'll let me, I'd be happy to help. And I'll try not to take over." I think that last statement was intended for me.

Kotomi gave her trademark happy gasp as she clasped her hands in front of her chest. "Thank you. Thank you! Kyou-chan, Ryou-chan, Nagisa-chan…thank you so much!"

While Furukawa and Fujibayashi fussed over Kotomi, Kyou made her way over to me. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," I said with a smile.

She looked up at me sadly, which didn't surprise me. "I meant what I said; I won't try to take over your wedding."

"Thanks."

Her expression changed, and I suddenly felt a pain in my heart. "J-Just to let you know, I'm going to ask if I can be Kotomi's maid-of-honor."

The pain in my heart throbbed a little. "Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, you…that is, your…"

She reached out, but jerked her hand back before she touched me. "I know, but…I think I need to. It won't seem real if I'm not part of it." She smiled sadly. "Even if I'm just a bridesmaid, I think I can still put this behind me."

"You're strong, Kyou," I said with admiration.

She shook her head. "Not strong enough," she said with a hiccup as she noticed the others looking our way. "Excuse me."

As the twins and Furukawa left, Kotomi approached me with a worried look. "Tomoya-kun; you look sad. Are you okay?"

"Huh?" I quickly rubbed a wet irritant from my eye. "I'll be okay." I managed to shake off a little of the pain. "Kyou was trying to convince me that she wouldn't take over the wedding."

Kotomi's worried look eased, but didn't disappear. "Did she convince you?"

"Yeah, kinda." I shrugged. "I guess we'll see, won't we?"

"Tomoya-kun…" she giggled as she wrapped her arms around me. I could feel the warmth and love radiating from her. Or maybe it was the warmth of her love? I shook my head. Where did that thought come from?

Rather than dwell on that thought, I looked down on my fiancée and smiled as I wrapped my arms around her and simply enjoyed everything that was 'Kotomi'.


	12. Graduation

**Chapter Twelve: Graduation**

I had no idea where the time had gone, but I suddenly found myself at the end of the school year.

"Hurry, Tomoya-kun," Kotomi fussed. "We do not want to be late for our graduation ceremony!"

I was closer to being ready than she apparently thought, because when she came in my room, I heard her gasp. "Oh, you look so handsome!"

"Thanks," I replied as I finished adjusting the tie. "Are you about ready the-" The words caught in my throat as she came into view.

Before me stood a vision of loveliness in a purple dress, with large...ruffles, I think they were called…around the neck. The dress covered her from neck to ankles, as well as to her wrists. It wasn't form-fitting, but it hugged her body enough to remind me that she was a woman. As usual she had her hair ornaments, but instead of the bead-like decorations she usually had, she had small purple bows.

My mouth felt suddenly dry. "Wow."

She blushed attractively. "Do you like my dress?"

I slowly walked over to her and lay a hand on her cheek; she promptly pressed her face into it. "You…You're so beautiful."

Her blush intensified. "Th-Thank you, Tomoya-kun."

I suddenly felt awkward and started to pull my hand away. "Sorry; I got carried aw-"

Kotomi grabbed my hand and held it against her cheek. Her eyes slowly closed and she released what sounded like happy sigh.

After several moments her eyes opened…and widened. "Oh! I am sorry!" She quickly released my hand. "We must hurry! We must-" Without sticking around to finish her sentence she hurried from the room.

I looked at the hand that had been on her face. Who knew that a simple touch could have such an effect?

* * *

After the ceremony was over, I made my way over to the girls as they got their picture taken by Furukawa's dad. When she saw me, Kotomi's face lit up just as he snapped the photo. "Hey, nice smile, Ichinose-san!" he exclaimed.

"Tomoya-kun!' Kotomi exclaimed as she rushed over to me. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, you too," I replied. Thanks to her tutelage I managed to pass all of my classes, as well as challenge many of my first- and second-year classes, which allowed me to improve my overall grades quite a bit. Not enough to qualify for any top-tier universities, but enough for a good recommendation from the school. Not enough for a great job, but working at a recycling shop could be considered a good start.

"Hey, get back here!" Kyou protested. "Pops still has some film left, so we're taking lots of pictures!"

Furukawa's dad looked over the top of his camera with a look of dismay.

I approached him with a smile. "Don't worry about Kyou, sir; that's just how she is."

He shifted his attention to me and seemed to be sizing me up. "So you're Nagisa's boyfriend."

My smile froze. "Come again?"

He gestured at me, and I noticed a cigarette in his hand. "She talks about you all the time, so I figured you must be her boyfriend."

"Dad!" Furukawa protested while turning scarlet. "I never said he was my b-boyfriend! Okazaki-san is just a really good friend!"

"Hmph." He gave me another once-over. "Not like I'd ever give her to you, anyway. Brat."

"And I'm Okazaki Tomoya," I countered as I bowed. "Nice to meet you."

His eyes widened for a moment before he started laughing as he returned the bow. "Ha, you got me there, brat! That's quick thinking!"

"Akio-san, are you bullying this nice young man?" A pretty brown-haired girl with a kind face appeared, and I realized from the 'antennae' that she had to be related to Furukawa somehow. "Is my husband giving you trouble?"

I blinked. "Waitaminute…are you Furu-well, Nagisa's mother?"

She smiled brightly. "Yes! I am Furukawa Sanae, Nagisa's mother!"

I shook my head in disbelief. "I'm sorry ma'am; I thought you were her cousin or someone like that."

Her eyes widened in obvious pleasure. "Well, well! Aren't you a sweet-talker! Are you Nagisa's boyfriend, perchance?"

I chuckled at the likely duplicate conversation. "No ma'am. Your daughter is a really nice girl, but…" I wrapped my arm around Kotomi, "Kotomi-chan here is my fiancée. In fact, we're getting married in June."

Sanae somehow manage to show happiness and confusion at the same time. "Well…good for the two of you! Aren't you kind of young, though?"

"We have a history together," I explained as Kotomi blushed. "We were childhood friends that found each other again in high school."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Sanae exclaimed. Could she say anything without exclamation marks? "Young love…it reminds me of us, Akio!"

At some point, the cigarette had made its way to Akio's mouth. "Kotomi, huh?" He mumbled as he studied my fiancée carefully. "If you don't mind my asking, what's your last name?"

Kotomi stuttered and stammered before looking to me; apparently she still had trouble with new people occasionally. "Her last name is Ichinose."

The cigarette dropped from his mouth. "Ichinose? As in Ichinose Koutarou and Mizue?"

"You knew my parents?" Apparently Kotomi had forgotten that she was supposed to be nervous.

Akio shook his head. "Only from what I read in the papers." He gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry about what happened to them."

"Th-Thank you." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"If you need to talk to anyone, just come to Furukawa Bakery; we'll help if we can."

"Th-Thank you," Kotomi repeated.

He glanced over at his wife briefly before leaned toward us and whispering: "A word of warning, though; Sanae likes to experiment with her bread, so be careful if she offers you some."

Kotomi paled; I think I did as well. "Th-Thank you," she repeated.

"My bread is…my bread is…"

A look of dismay appeared on Akio's face, and he turned to see Sanae standing next to him with tears in her eyes. "Sanae? How did you-"

Sanae suddenly wrapped Kotomi in an embrace. "Please come and visit us, soon." It was weird; her tears had somehow disappeared.

"I-I look forward to seeing you," Kotomi managed to reply.

"Hello? Pictures?" Kyou's annoyed voice could be clearly heard.

"Yes, yes," grumbled Akio as he turned back to the group of girls.

Kotomi and I looked at each other and smiled before returning to our friends and an afternoon of fun and photos.


	13. Work Visit

**Chapter Thirteen: Work Visit**

I was working on a desk fan when I heard the bell to the front door ring. "Just a minute, please; I'll be right with you."

I didn't hear a response, which worried me a little, so I quickly finished my work on the fan motor and picked up a towel to wipe my hands as I entered the 'showroom'. "Welcome! How may I help-"

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi looked terribly out-of-place in the dirty shop. With her white lab coat and red hair ornaments, she made me think of a beautiful flower in a pile of dung. "I wanted to see you so badly!"

"K-Kotomi-chan?!" I took a halting step. I was already ashamed enough of my position, but for her to be here… "What are you doing here?"

"Showing us where you work!" chirped a familiar voice that I really didn't want to hear at work. Kyou appeared from behind Kotomi and finger-waved, with Fujibayashi at her side as usual. "So this is it?"

"Yeah," I answered, scratching my cheek. I just couldn't look my old classmates in the eye. "It's not much, but the pay's good."

"Are you working on this?" she asked while examining a partly-disassembled vacuum cleaner.

"No I'm taking break from that to work on a desk fan. It's in the back," I added, as the twins started looking around.

Kotomi, however, didn't seem interested in the shop as made her way over to me and gave me a hug. "Thank you for the hard work you do for us."

"Y-You're welcome," I replied. "I'm really not doing much, not compared to you. How were you able to get out for so long? The lab's pretty far from here, isn't it?"

"Yeah, and how did you even get to Sci-Tek anyway?" Kyou interjected. "Weren't you going to go to university or something?"

"Go to university?" I snorted. "To do what, teach?"

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi immediately went to Full Blush Mode. "I cannot do that!"

"Sure you can," I countered. "I saw the letter. Why didn't you accept?"

"Tomoya-kun!" she repeated, now pouting. "That letter was not for you!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," I said, raising my hands in surrender. "I saw it by accident when I was clearing the writing desk."

Kotomi's pout was apparently not leaving any time soon. "I could not accept the position."

"Why not?" Fujibayashi had finally joined our group. "You'd make a wonderful professor."

Kotomi's eyes darted to each of us before she answered. "I…I…" She took a deep breath. "I would be too far away from Tomoya-kun."

Kyou burst into laughter, Fujibayashi covered her mouth with both hands, and my face burst into flame. I had suspected I was the reason, but it was still embarrassing to hear it.

Kyou clapped a hand on my shoulder, still laughing. "Well, there's no doubt how she feels about you, huh?"

"Shut up," I retorted, but couldn't keep the smile from my face. It really was nice to know the Kotomi felt so strongly about me, regardless of what I thought of myself. I looked over at her to see her duck her head shyly. Here she was, one of Japan's national treasures, standing in a dingy recycling shop and engaged to a salaryman. I really didn't deserve her.

"So, are you going to be able to be there for her dress fitting?" Kyou was, of course, referring to Kotomi's dress fitting on Saturday. Unlike her white summer dress this one was to be professionally made, but Kotomi had insisted on the twins and Furukawa being part of the process.

"Yeah, I made the arrangements," I told her. "It'll cost me my next two days off, but yeah."

"Okazaki-kun…" Fujibayashi said with a giggle.

"That's okay; she's worth it, isn't she?" Kyou chirped.

I looked over to Kotomi, who still had her head bowed and was glancing at me from beneath her eyelashes, before looking back to Kyou. "Absolutely."

Kyou got that wistful look in her eyes that I figured I'd just have to get used to. "Yeah."

I glanced at Fujibayashi who, in turn, glanced at her sister and nudged her. "Onee-chan…"

"Huh?" I waited patiently as Kyou came back to reality. "Yeah, she's absolutely worth it. Damn right!" she said to no one in particular before grabbing onto her sister. "C'mon Ryou, let's give the lovebirds a few minutes alone. They probably want to do…things."

"Onee-chan!"

Kotomi squeaked as she covered her face, and I started to wonder if there was some truth to Kyou's words. "Thanks, Kyou. Good to see you again."

"Yeah yeah," Kyou said as she lifted a hand in a wave.

"Take care Okazaki-kun," Fujibayashi said as Kyou dragged her out the door.

"You too," I said as the door shut behind her…or in front of her, depending on how you looked at it.

"So," I said, trying to break an awkward silence, "how were you able to get away from the lab?"

"I gave my team an assignment and told them I was coming to see you," she said quietly as she approached me. "They were the ones who gave me the idea, in fact."

"Seriously?" I couldn't believe that they would help her skip work.

She nodded solemnly as she stepped even closer; based on her prior behavior I had a pretty good idea what was coming next. "Absolutely," she said.

I went back to wiping my hands on the towel. "Well, I need to get back to work KotomMMPH."

Sure enough, Kotomi had cupped my face with her hands and kissed me. It was still a little jarring though, since she tended to spring kisses on me without warning…not that I didn't enjoy them, of course. Unfortunately, my hands were too dirty to be touching her coat, so I put as much feeling into the kiss as I could.

She finally pulled away, her eyes half-lidded. "I missed you."

I nodded, feeling a little overwhelmed. "I get that. Thank you."

She smiled softly. "What time will you be home?"

I managed to tear my eyes away from her face to glance at the clock. "Probably about six-thirty, maybe seven."

I could still feel the tingle of her touch even after she took her hands off of my face. "I'll see you for dinner, Tomoya-kun," she said breathily.

The way she said my name…I shuddered. What was it going to be like to be married to her? "Y-Yeah…See you later."


	14. Uncomfortable Fitting

**Chapter Fourteen: Uncomfortable Fitting**

"I'm telling you that it's too tight!"

"It looks okay to me."

"Onee-chan…"

I walked in to see Kyou, Fujibayashi and Furukawa fussing over Kotomi as she stood on a raised platform. Kotomi was wearing the dress that she had picked – well, the main part of it – and the other three were helping her with the fitting.

"Good, there you are," Kyou said as she saw me. "What do you think? I think the waist's too tight, Nagisa thinks it's fine, and Ryou just repeats my name." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at Kotomi. "I can't get an answer out of her. Can you help me out?"

I sighed and made my way up to the platform, and I noticed that Kotomi was watching me with teary eyes. "What's going on, Kotomi-chan? Feeling overwhelmed?"

She clasped her hands in front of her chest and nodded.

I thought it funny how she could work in a lab filled with people, but… "Okay," I said before deliberately softening my voice. "Just breathe, Kotomi-chan. Close your eyes and just feel yourself breathe." She did as she was told, and I gently rested my hand against her cheek. As usual, she pressed her face against my hand and sighed. "Picture all of your stress as a dark cloud. Now gather all of it into a ball. Have you gathered it?"

Kotomi held my hand against her face with both of hers as she nodded slowly.

"Good. Now you're going to throw it. You're going to throw it as hard as you can as far as you can. Can you do that?"

She nodded again, still holding my hand to her face. It was cute the way her eyebrows drew together, and I could almost see her throwing away the stress with all her might.

"After you've thrown it, take one more deep breath and then open your eyes."

She nodded again, took a deep breath and let it out. Then she slowly opened her eyes, and I lifted my other hand to her face to wipe away a tear that had escaped.

She gazed into my eyes. "I love you so much, Tomoya-kun."

I felt my chest swell. "I love you too, Kotomi-chan."

Suddenly remembering that we weren't alone and that I was there for a reason, I blinked and turned to the other three girls, Kotomi releasing my hand. "Sorry Kyou, so what's the prob-"

Kyou, Fujibayashi, and Furukawa all stood there almost identical, with feet together, hands clasped before their chests, and tears flowing from their eyes as they each trembled.

"What's going on with you three? Are you okay?"

"Okazaki-kun…"

"Okazaki-san…"

"T-Tomoya…"

I looked over my shoulder at Kotomi, who looked almost as alarmed as I felt. I returned my gaze to the trembling trio. "What? What is it?"

Almost as one, they fell toward me, crying. Individually, none of them were that heavy, but combined…

I heard Kotomi call out my name as I crashed to the floor under the weight of three sobbing girls.

* * *

"You okay?" Kyou asked as Kotomi fussed over me with my head in her lap. The three had finally settled down and Kotomi had started checking me for injuries, though I think she was mainly feeling jealous from having three other girls glomp me. Not that I blamed her.

"I'm fine," I replied. I grinned as I looked up at Kotomi's concerned face. "I have a great nurse." That brought a smile to my fiancée's face, finally. "Anyway, what was that all about?"

The three exchanged ashamed glances with each other. I couldn't help but notice that Furukawa seemed a little…off.

Fujibayashi was brave enough to speak first. "I was really, really…touched…by what you did for Kotomi-chan. When you touched her face…" She covered her own beet-red face before she could finish.

"That…was really intense, Tomoya…" was about all Kyou could get out.

"Nagisa-chan; are you okay?" I glanced up to Kotomi's face. She still had the look of concern, but this time it was directed toward… I looked to Furukawa.

Like the other two, she was sitting on her heels, but she was leaning forward with her hands on the floor. She was pale, and breathing heavily.

I quickly excused myself from Kotomi's lap and crawled to Furukawa. "Hey, Furukawa? You okay?"

She looked up at me, but her eyes were unfocused. She was pale, but her face was flushed. "O-Okazak-" She pitched forward into my lap.

My decision was instant. "I'm taking her home. Kyou, Fujibayashi…stay here and help Kotomi-chan." To Kotomi I said: "Stay here and keep working on your dress. I'll call you if I need help, okay?"

"Wait a minute…" Kyou protested as she helped load Furukawa onto my back. "Call?"

"Kotomi and I got cell phones a little while ago, just so we could call each other if we needed to," I quickly explained. Making sure that my charge was secure I turned to my fiancée. "But don't call me unless you absolutely have to. I need to focus on getting her home safely, okay?"

Kotomi nodded tearfully.

A thought caught me as I got to the door. "Oh, Kotomi-chan?"

"Yes?"

I allowed a smile to spread across my face. "You're beautiful."

As I left the room my smile spread as I heard Kotomi's happy gasp.

* * *

"Okazaki-san…"

"Yeah?"

"Where…are we?"

I thought about how to best answer. "You seemed sick and out-of-it so I'm taking you home."

"But-"

I shook my head. "No 'buts' this time."

It wasn't much of a victory, but I was relieved when she relaxed onto my back.

"Okazaki-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it true that Kotomi-chan's parents studied alternate realities?"

"I don't know anything about that. I do know that they were doing something with String Theory or something like that."

"Do you believe in alternate realities?" Thankfully she sounded more alert, if a little sleepy.

"I haven't thought about it, really. I have enough to deal with in this one."

I felt more than heard her giggle. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

It was quiet for a while save for the sound of my footfalls.

"Okazaki-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever wonder if…maybe in another reality…you're with a different girl?"

What a strange question. "I hadn't given it much thought, no."

"I'd like to have a daughter." Nagisa said, and I could sense her smile. "I'd name her Ushio."

My pace faltered as I felt something like nostalgia. Why did that name sound so familiar?

"Okazaki-san…Are you okay?" Furukawa's sleepy voice sounded over my shoulder.

"Yeah, I just lost my footing for a moment. Sorry."

Her arms slightly tightened over my shoulders. "It's okay. At least you didn't fall and hurt yourself."

"Or you," I pointed out.

I had been feeling uncomfortable ever since her 'different girl' question, but my discomfort increased when I felt her snuggle into my back even more.

I really needed to get her home.


	15. Revelations

**Chapter Fifteen: Revelations**

Furukawa's mom must have seen us approaching because she hustled out the front door of the bakery to meet us. "What happened?"

"I'm fine, Mom," Furukawa protested weakly.

"I'm not sure, ma'am," I replied. "She was helping Kyou and Fujibayashi with Kotomi-chan's dress, and I noticed that she was pale and flushed at the same time. Her eyes looked a little off too, like she was looking at me but couldn't see me."

"Not again," Furukawa's mom – Sanae, I remembered – mumbled. "Please, bring her inside. I'll set up her futon so you can put her in it."

I followed Sanae inside the bakery, through the door to the back room to find myself in a home. So, the bakery was part of their home? I decided to ask about it when things settled down.

* * *

I sat next to Furukawa as she slept, while her mother sat across from me on her other side. Furukawa had a death grip on my shirt, keeping me from going anywhere.

Sanae wanted to tell me her daughter's story but I needed to make a request first: "May I give my fiancée a call before we get started? If I'm going to be here a while I'd like to let her know so she doesn't worry."

"Certainly," she replied. "The phone's in the hallway next to the bakery entrance."

"Actually, I have a cell phone, but thank you anyway," I said as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. "I'll just be a minute." I quickly dialed Kotomi's number.

She answered almost immediately: _"Tomoya-kun?"_

"Yeah, it's me." I kept my voice low, to not wake Furukawa. "Listen, I'm going to be at Furukawa Bakery for a while. If you get done before I get back…wait a sec." I muted the phone. "Ma'am, would it be okay if the others come by? I'm sure they're worried about her; she's their friend, after all."

"Certainly," Sanae replied. "I'm sure Nagisa would be happy if they came, even if she sleeps the whole time."

"Thank you." I 'unmuted' the phone. "Sorry about that."

" _It is no trouble. Is everything okay?"_

"Yeah, Furukawa's sleeping. I just got permission from her mom for all of you to visit when you're done there." I looked down at Furukawa's sleeping face. "She might still be asleep when you get here, but I think it would mean a lot to her if you came."

" _Just a minute, please."_ I heard her talking with the other two briefly. _"We should be finished in about fifteen minutes; then we will head over there."_

"Do you know how to get here?"

" _Kyou-chan knows the way. We will be fine."_

"Okay, see you later, then."

" _Tomoya-kun?"_

"Yeah?"

" _Thank you so much for taking care of Nagisa-chan. I love you."_

My face flared up and out of the corner of my eye I could see Sanae-san smiling…sadly? "I'll…see you later, then. I love you, too," I quickly blurted.

"She sounds like a very nice girl," Sanae observed after I hung up. At my expression she quickly added. "I couldn't understand what she was saying, but I could hear her tone of voice."

"Thanks." I decided to not press the issue; I had made the call in front of her, after all. "Yeah, she's a really nice girl. Why she fell for a loser like me I'll never under-"

"You're not a loser, Okazaki-san," Sanae interrupted. "You were lost, but that does not make you a 'loser'." At my dumbfounded look she explained, "Nagisa has told me a lot about you. She…" At this her face fell. "…she thinks very highly of you."

I looked down at Nagisa's sleeping face again. She was sleeping but, by her pained expression, she didn't look like she was getting a very restful sleep. I took the washcloth off of her forehead and handed it to Sanae, who left to run it under cold water again.

After Sanae left I looked down at Furukawa. "Why do you think so highly of me?" I asked her sleeping form. "I'm a delinquent – or at least I was. I go around with a bad attitude. I've let Kyou walk all over me." I closed my eyes and tried to stuff down the pain. "What do you see in me that I don't?"

"T-Tomoya-kun…"

My eyes snapped open and I looked around, expecting to see Kotomi and the twins. But it was still Nagisa and I alone in her room. I looked down at her with wide eyes as she tossed and turned while saying my name over and over again.

I wasn't sure what would happen, but I couldn't let her suffer any more; I took her hand in both of mine. "It's okay, Furukawa, it's okay….I'm here."

She calmed almost immediately, but… "Tomoya…Tomoya…Ushio is….Ushio is…" The poor girl was delirious. It was strange, though; for just a moment I could see a 'ghost' of a baby lying next to her. Was I becoming delirious, too?

Sanae hustled into the room with a cold washcloth and put it over her daughter's forehead. "Shh, shh, it's okay," she said soothingly. "Everything's okay, he's here."

I looked around, but I was the only 'he' in the room. "Ma'am? Who are you talking about? Who's here?"

She flashed me an apologetic look as she caressed Furukawa's hair. "I'll explain later," she whispered.

I found myself looking forward to and dreading that explanation.

* * *

"She loves you, brat," Akio said without any preamble. He had arrived home shortly after Kotomi and the twins' arrival with the medications needed to help Furukawa sleep, and had joined us around the kotatsu for Sanae's explanation.

Even though I had had my suspicions, the news still caused my stomach to slither into my shoes. "Sh-She's never said anything to me about it," I managed to squeeze out. "Is that why she's sick?"

Sanae sat next to her husband with hands folded. "I don't know. It's possible."

Akio turned to his wife. "If she's been holding on to her feelings for that long…"

Sanae nodded quietly with tears in her eyes.

"You're the only one who didn't see it," Kyou admonished, though in a gentle tone. I looked over at Kotomi, who nodded sadly.

"I had an idea," I admitted, "but I didn't want to make her uncomfortable by bringing it up. I mean, what if I was wrong?" I shook my head. "I didn't want to mess up our friendship by bringing up something like that. Now I wish I had; maybe she wouldn't have ended up like this."

Akio gently smacked the top of the kotatsu. "It's not your fault, brat. She's always held things in if she thought it would hurt someone if she said something."

"It's true," Sanae agreed.

I looked at these two good people, and my heart felt heavy. "All right, I'll stop kicking myself, but…is there anything I can do to help?"

The Furukawas looked at each other before returning their gaze to me. "Just be gentle in your rejection," Akio said.

"I'll do that," I agreed, but I was still worried; how would she take a rejection while sick like this?


	16. Sick Leave

**Chapter Sixteen: Sick Leave**

Several days passed. Along with the wedding planning and our work schedules we would make time to visit Furukawa at home; sometimes the twins would visit, sometimes Kotomi and I would visit. Sometimes one of the girls would visit her alone. Of course, for obvious reasons, I could never bring myself to visit her alone.

Some days she would seem fine. Others, she'd be sleeping. I'd heard from Furukawa's parents that she'd managed to sleep a little, eat a little, toss and turn a lot. Guilt messed up my appetite and Kotomi had noticed.

"You are very worried about Nagisa-chan," she would say.

My answer was always the same: "Yeah, and I feel like her sickness is all my fault."

Her reply was also the same: "Tomoya-kun, please do not blame yourself. Her parents do not." Then I would hold her as she cried.

On the bright side, at least Furukawa got to finish high school this time.

* * *

After several days Furukawa still hadn't gotten better so I decided to visit her along with Kotomi and the twins…with her parents' permission, of course.

"Okazaki-san," she cooed as we entered her room. She had several blankets covering her. "Kotomi-chan, Kyou-chan, Ryou-" I cringed as she cut herself off with a coughing fit before quickly taking a drink of water. "…Ryou-chan, it's good to see all of you."

"How're you feeling?" Kyou asked. "You look really tired."

"Oh, I'm fine," she replied with a tired smile.

"G-Good," Kyou retorted. "Then you can start helping with the wedding plans, right?" she finished with a catlike smile.

"Onee-chan, don't tease her yet," protested Fujibayashi. "Even if she isn't sick, she still doesn't have all of her strength back!"

"That's true," Kyou conceded. "All right Nagisa, you're off the hook for now."

"Thank you," Furukawa replied weakly. She looked to me and something…changed…in her expression. Like she'd lost something.

"Ryou, Kotomi-chan, let's go and buy some fruit for her," Kyou said rather suddenly. I looked over at her with what must have been a puzzled look; she looked back with a meaningful expression. She was giving Furukawa the chance, wasn't she?

"Kyou, I can-" I started to say. I was really afraid of being alone with Furukawa.

"You need to stay and keep an eye on her," Kyou interrupted, again with that meaningful expression, as she dragged two protesting girls out the door.

Furukawa and I enjoyed the quiet for several minutes. Well, I think we did; I wasn't really sure. In any case, Kyou was quite the noisemaker, so the break was refreshing.

"Okazaki-san?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"How's the wedding planning going?"

I leaned back to think, putting my hands on the floor behind me to prop myself up. "Well, I think everything's about done. I mean, the dress was really the last thing. The decorations are at our house, the cake is supposed to be ready by Friday...the Friday before the wedding, I mean…and Kotomi's dress is ready. Oh, and my suit is ready."

She smiled softly. "So lucky…"

I smiled as well. "Yeah, I'm a pretty lucky guy."

She shook her head ever so slightly. "I'm not talking about you."

My smiled faded. "Then…who are you talking about?" Playing dumb was the best thing to do, sure.

"Kotomi-chan."

Here it comes… "Wh-Why her?"

She pulled her hand from under the covers and reached for me. I reflexively took hold of her hand with both of mine. "Okazaki-san…Tomoya…"

I licked my suddenly dry lips. "Yeah, Furukawa?"

"Would…would you say my name? Without the honorifics?"

"Your name?" I asked somewhat stupidly. "You want me to say your name?"

She nodded.

I felt the blood drain from my face. "F-Furuka-"

"No," she objected with a pained expression and a slight squeeze to my hands. "My name."

I knew what she was asking for, but… "I…I don't think it's appropri…" I let the sentence fade as I saw her gaze on me. She might not be here tomorrow. All she wanted was for someone she loved to acknowledge her.

I sighed heavily. Embarrassment forced my eyes shut.

"No…please look at me." She really wasn't going to make this easy, was she? I smiled humorlessly at my own cowardice.

I just had to say it once…just once…I looked her in the eye; something about the expression in her eyes made me afraid and sad and happy at the same time. "N-Nagisa…."

Her lower lip trembled along with the hand I held as tears began to pool in her eyes. "Tomoya…I…I…"

Oh God, here it comes…

"…I love you…so much…"

"Furuka – Nagisa," I quickly amended at her distressed look. "What am I supposed to say? I don't want to hurt you while you're sick, but I can't return your feelings."

She smiled sadly. "You say 'I'm sorry that I can't return your feelings, because I'm already with someone I love'."

I barked a laugh as I wiped a tear from my eye; that had been exactly what Fujibayashi had told me what seemed like a long time ago. "Yeah, I guess that's all I can do, huh?"

She nodded, sad smile still in place.

I pulled myself together and looked her in the eye once more: "I'm sorry that I can't return your feelings, because I'm already with someone I love."

With that she finally allowed herself to fall apart; whether her weakened state had anything to do with it or not I'd never know, but she burst into tears as she reached for me. I leaned down and let her wrap her arms around my neck and hold me tightly as she cried. The illness must have really weakened her resolve.

Eventually she loosened her grip on me, and I smiled as I sat back up after gently placing her arms back under the covers. "Sleep well, Nagis-"

Something wasn't right. I didn't know what, but I just felt it.

I looked around me, but Nagisa and I were still alone. Her parents were in the bakery, but I didn't dare leave her by herself…not with this…feeling.

I looked back down at her and realized: the blanket over her chest wasn't moving. "Nagisa?"

I quickly licked my finger and put it under her nostrils. No air movement could be felt. "Nagisa?!"

"Hey Tomoya, what's-"

Kyou never had the chance to finish her sentence. "Get her mom and dad!" I barked, causing her to drop an apple. "She's not breathing!"


	17. Consequences

**Chapter Seventeen: Consequences**

"Tomoya, sit down!"

Kyou's words barely reached my ears as I paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room. I don't know how long I'd been pacing, but I knew it had to have been while since my feet were starting to hurt.

"Okazaki-kun, pacing isn't going to help Nagisa-san," Ryou said.

I stopped in front of the three girls. "I know, but I'm too worked up to just sit!" I started pacing again. I had to, or I'd go crazy.

"Tomoya-kun…" Kotomi's soft voice penetrated my chaotic thoughts.

I immediately walked over to my fiancée and pulled her to her feet to hold her. Or maybe so she would hold me. "I still feel like this is my fault," I said.

"I know," Kotomi replied. "But you heard what her parents said; she chose to keep her feelings to herself."

I couldn't refute her statement, but I still couldn't stop feeling guilty…like I should have seen it and addressed it sooner. "I could have been more aware-"

"GAAAH!" I looked over to see Kyou rubbing roughly at her head before getting up from her chair to march over to us. "Knock it off, idiot! She knew you were clueless when it came to women. Nobody was stopping her from getting it off her chest!"

"Onee-chan!" Ryou protested. "We're in a hospital!"

Kyou glanced over at her sister and took a deep breath. "Look Tomoya, I'm glad that you're worried about Nagisa; that tells me that you have a conscience, not that I ever doubted that. But beating yourself up over this isn't going to help her, and could end up making you sick, too."

"Kyou-chan is right," Kotomi agreed. "You could end up weakening your immune system, making yourself vulnerable to many different illnesses."

I sighed heavily as I gently rested my chin on top of Kotomi's head. "I know you're both right. I guess I just wish there was something I could do since I'm part of the reason she's like this."

Kyou shook her head with a smile. "You were just the…target. It could have been Sunohara and she probably would have done the same thing."

I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of Nagisa being in love with my old idiot friend. "I hadn't thought of that, but that's true. I could see that, too."

"See?" Kyou wore an expression of pride. "This was out of your control from the beginning. All we need is for the doctors to do their job and it'll be the five of us again."

"Onee-chan," Ryou said as she pointed down a hallway.

We all looked to see a doctor talking to Furukawa's parents. We couldn't hear what was being said, but we could see the doctor moving his hands as he spoke. In his hands was a clipboard, which he pointed at several times.

When he laid his hand on Akio's shoulder… "No…" I couldn't believe it.

"Tomoya-kun?"

"No…no…" I don't know how many times I repeated that word as I let go of Kotomi and stumbled toward the doctor and Furukawa's parents. As I got closer, I saw Sanae cover her face with both hands, and Akio wrap an arm around her shoulders as he covered his face with the other hand. "Oh, god…"

I didn't want to bother them so I grabbed the doctor by the elbow as he turned to leave. "How is she?"

He gave me a confused look before looking to Akio and Sanae. "It's fine; you can tell him," I heard Akio reply in a strained voice. "He's a friend of hers."

I took a deep breath as I released the doctor's arm.

The doctor started to point to the clipboard but stopped himself. "I'm sorry…" he said sadly, "…but your friend has died."

I barely heard Kotomi call out to me as my strength gave out and I crumpled to the floor.

* * *

I opened my eyes to whiteness. Whiteness with little black dots.

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi's face suddenly appeared in my field of view. "Are you okay?" She looked above me, and I realized that I was lying down, so 'above' had become relative. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine, physically," I heard the doctor say. "I think that the death of his friend was more than he could handle."

'Death'? I sat up and my head promptly punished me by throbbing. "Owwww…" I looked around for other friendly faces and found Kyou and Fujibayashi sitting nearby. Their reddened and puffy eyes told me that they had been given the bad news. "How long was I out?"

"About an hour," the doctor replied. "I'm sorry; I didn't know that the two of you were so close."

"She was…a really…good friend to us…" Kotomi managed to say before breaking down in tears herself; she must not have shown any signs of grief until just then. Was she so worried about me that she didn't think about her friend? I ignored the pain in my head as I grabbed onto Kotomi and held her tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably.

As I listened to Kotomi cry, one question came to the forefront of my thoughts: Why?

Then I noticed: "Where are her parents?"

The doctor gestured to the doorway of the room I had been put in. "They're in with their daughter." He gave me a meaningful look. "I understand that you're upset over the loss of your friend, but the Furukawas are going to need strong people around them to help deal with their loss. Can I count of the four of you to be there for them?"

The words were barely out of his mouth before Kyou shot to her feet. "You can count on me," she declared boldly, though her voice wavered noticeably.

Kotomi's crying subsided, blinking away tears as we watched Fujibayashi rise to her feet as well. "Me too."

I slid off of the table onto my still-unsteady feet and slid my arm around Kotomi. After exchanging a small sad smile with her I said, "We'll be there for them." I didn't know how much help we would be, but we would do what we could.


	18. In Memoriam

**Chapter Eighteen: In Memoriam**

I sat somewhat numbly through Nagisa's funeral. Ever since I had collapsed at the hospital I hadn't felt much in the way of emotions. Numb, that's how I felt; numb, even as I saw the twins, Kotomi, and Sanae cry.

I didn't even feel anything when they placed her body in the cremator. Unlike the others, I stuck around for a few minutes before they started the machine.

"I'm sorry," I said to the otherwise empty room. I knew she wasn't there, but I still needed to say it. "I should've seen it. Maybe I could have said something and you wouldn't be here."

I really didn't enjoy the pain that I started to feel in my heart but, in a way, it was a relief; I guess I was finally ready to grieve.

"Your parents are good people," I said as I felt tears starting to form in my eyes. "Kotomi and I'll make sure that they're taken care of."

I leaned up against the side of the cremator. "Why did you have to fall in love with me? You knew about Kotomi and I, didn't you? Maybe you didn't know this about me, but I'm stubborn to a fault; I wouldn't have given her up for anyone." I wiped at my messy eyes. "And what did you hope to do by keeping it to yourself? You made yourself sick, didn't you? Did you die in my arms?!" I lightly smacked the side of the cremator.

"Tomoya-kun?"

I turned to see Kotomi standing by the door to the room. She must have gotten a good look at my face, because her hands flew to her mouth as tears started to form in her eyes. "Tomoya-kun…are you blaming yourself again?"

"No, not this time," I said as she made her way over and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm just trying to work things out with Nagisa."

"B-But-"

"I know, I know, she's not here anymore…I guess I'm trying to work out my side of things." I looked up like I was trying to see Heaven. "What I want to know is 'Why?' Why did she have to die?"

"Well," Kotomi said thoughtfully if tearfully, "the doctor told us that the stress on her heart was too much-"

"I know," I interrupted again. "But that answers 'how'. I want to know 'why'."

"I am sorry, Tomoya-kun; I cannot answer that."

"I know," I sighed, blinking away more tears. "I never expected to lose someone so close to me like this. I mean, all of us were a really good group of friends, and to lose one of us like this…I was too young to remember my mom's death, so I don't even have that to compare it to."

I felt Kotomi nod against my chest. "It has been a long time since my parents died, but it does not make this any easier for me."

I sighed again, more heavily this time. "I wonder how the Furukawas are doing."

Kotomi hiccupped. "I can only imagine what it would be like to lose a child, especially after caring for her and raising her for eighteen years."

"Yeah," I agreed, giving her an extra squeeze. I heard the door open again, and I turned to see the technicians entering the room. "We should go. If you want to say anything to Nagisa, I'll try to keep them busy."

I felt her shake her head again. "For now I have cried all that I can and said everything that I can." She looked up at me with a sad smile. "I am just waiting for you, now."

"Waiting for me?" I asked as we started for the door, still in something of an embrace. "Waiting for me to do what?"

"To grieve."

I knew what she meant; I had been bottling up my feelings while I tried to make sense of them. But…maybe I needed to just let it go, let myself cry and rage; then I could look at my feelings then, make sense of them then. But as long as I had to be strong for others, I couldn't do that-

" _You could end up weakening your immune system, making yourself vulnerable to many different illnesses."_ Kotomi's words came back to me and I realized that, even though she had been talking about something else, her words could still apply here. I could make myself sick just like Nagisa if I kept my feelings bottled up like this.

We met up with the twins in the lobby and I noticed that Nagisa's parents weren't there. "Where are the Furukawas?"

"They left a little while ago," Fujibayashi said. "I think they'll be back after Nagisa-san's…" she put her hand to her mouth and dabbed at her eyes. "…in about a couple of hours."

I knew what she meant and simply nodded. "Okay." I looked down at Kotomi and asked, "Could we find a park somewhere around here?"

"I know of one nearby."

I let go of her to take her hand. "Are you two going to be coming back?" I asked the twins.

"We'll be here when her parents come back," Kyou replied. "I'm not sure I feel like going anywhere."

Truth be told, I really didn't want to leave either, but I had something that I had to take care of.

* * *

"The sky is very pretty, Tomoya-kun."

I looked up at the sheet of blue above us, lifting my hand to block the direct sunlight. The sun made the air nice and warm, but not too warm. In the distance I could hear kids playing. "Yeah, it's nice."

I felt rather than saw Kotomi look over toward me. "Why did you want to come to the park?"

I leaned back fully on the park bench and closed my eyes and allowed my mind to wander as the sun's warmth heated my face.

I thought back to when I first met Nagisa – 'Furukawa' at the time – at the bottom of the hill in front of the school. I smiled as I remembered her profile as she tried to convince herself to go to school. I remembered encouraging her, but I couldn't remember what exactly I'd said to her.

I thought of her as the Evil Drama Club President…though she was never very good at the 'Evil' part.

I thought about all the times that we spent together as a group, going on picnics and other outings, getting the material for Kotomi's dress...

"Tomoya-kun…?"

I stood before an enormous dam with water trickling from beneath it, and somehow I know that this dam was holding back my feelings. I knew that on the other side of that dam was the pain of losing such a good friend, that if that dam broke the muddied water would flow, out of control, until there was no more.

I made my way to a lever on the wall of the dam. I studied the lever for a brief moment before I reached out, pulled it, and stood in the path of the onrushing water and fell into Kotomi's lap and cried my heart out.


	19. A Beautiful Day for a Picnic

**Chapter Nineteen: A Beautiful Day for a Picnic**

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi greeted as she entered the kitchen with an envelope. "We have received an envelope from the Furukawas."

My eyebrows arched. "Really? What's it say?"

She gave me a puzzled look before looking at the front of the envelope. "Ichinose Kotomi and Okazaki Tom-"

"No no," I interrupted. "I mean, what's inside?"

"Oh!" She quickly opened the envelope and I got to briefly enjoy the sight of my girl scanning the letter. "Oh!" She repeated. "They are inviting us to a picnic at the park in front of their bakery!"

"Did they say who else they were inviting? Did they invite Kyou and Fujibayashi?"

She glanced at the letter again. "Yes…they have invited Kyou-chan and Ryou-chan."

"Good for them," I said. I didn't know the Furukawas well enough to know how they would react to their daughter's death, so I was glad to see this. "I've heard that it's good to have friends around during times like this." I thought back to what the doctor had told us. "And it'll give us a chance to be there for them."

Kotomi's eyes glistened as she nodded. "I cannot even imagine how Nagisa-chan's mother must be feeling right now."

"Not to mention her dad," I added, rubbing my chin before sending her a smile. "Well, you can take care of her mom and I'll take care of her dad. How does that sound?"

She returned my smile. "I am looking forward to it already."

* * *

"Hey, you two!" called Akio as we approached. "You're late!" Next to him was a barbecue with something delicious-smelling cooking on it.

"I am sorry," Kotomi apologized with a bow when we got close enough. "I was having difficulty in picking what to wear."

I barely suppressed a smirk as Akio fell all over himself trying to tell her that it was okay.

Fortunately for him, Sanae came to his rescue. "It can take us ladies a long time to make ourselves pretty."

"I find that hard to believe when I see you or Kotomi," my mouth said before my brain could stop it.

"T-Tomoya-kun!" I heard Kotomi blurt out, and I looked over to a blushing fiancée. Realizing what I had just said I quickly turned back to the Furukawas. "I'm really sorry about that; I spoke before I thought."

"N-No worries," Sanae replied as she fanned her flushed face.

I hadn't heard from Akio yet, so I figured I'd better apologize more directly. "I'm sorry sir; I really meant no disrespect to you…well, either of you."

His frown deepened, and I was concerned that I might have to go home already. Hopefully they'd at least let Kotomi stay.

His next words, however, let me off the hook: "At least you have good taste in women."

It took me several seconds to realize that he was messing with me, but I still kept my laughter somewhat reserved.

"Hey, what's so funny?" came a familiar voice from behind me. I turned to see Kyou and Fujibayashi entering the park, each carrying a bag. "If Tomoya's the punch line, count me in!"

"You're late," I said with a smirk.

"No they're not," Akio said from behind me.

I turned to him. "Now wait a minute. Kotomi and I got here a few minutes ago, and you said we were late."

"Ichinose-san was early; so were the twins." He leaned toward me. "You were the only one who was late."

So that was it; I was to be the butt of his jokes. He was probably getting back at me for the name prank a while back. "Okay, I get it. Next time I'll come later to be early."

"Huh?" Apparently he hadn't been expecting any attempt at a comeback. Then he narrowed his eyes. "Brat."

I extended my hand. "Okazaki."

He shook his head with a wry smile. "You're a fun one, kid. You wanna help me with the grill?"

I lowered my hand. "Sure, but I don't know how to use one of these things."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it; I'll make you a pro in no time."

* * *

"How's your wife doing?" I asked Akio and he and I watched the women talk amongst themselves. "Or should I be asking this?"

He exhaled noisily between his lips. "About as well as you'd expect." He regarded me a moment. "You ever lose anyone close to you, like family?"

"Just my mom, but I was too young at the time to remember her."

He got a faraway look in his eyes as he looked at the group. "It's hard, you know? You spend so much time and energy raising a child…I'd hoped that the time in the forest would have cured her but…"

I didn't know what he meant by 'the time in the forest', but I'd never seen him this serious so I really wanted to understand.

"…she was sick off and on all through her childhood…missed a lot of school."

"I'm glad that she was able to graduate," I offered.

Akio nodded absently. "Yeah, at least she made it that far."

"When you were talking about the time and energy used to raise a child…" How did I want to phrase it…? "…Is it like you're spending yourself in the process?"

"Yeah," he replied, nodding again. "See, it's not just the time and money, but us. Sanae and I gave ourselves to Nagisa."

I nodded thoughtfully. "I think I understand a little bit why it'd be hard, then."

He clapped a hand on my shoulder. "I really hope that you and Ichinose never have to go through something like this."

I felt too much compassion toward the older man to be embarrassed by the implications.

"We'll be okay, eventually," he added. "But you were good friends to Nagisa, so consider yourself welcome at our home any time."

"Thanks. I'll remember that."

We didn't say much after that until the food was ready.


	20. Future Considerations

**Chapter Twenty: Future Considerations**

After lunch, Sanae brought a blushing Kotomi to her husband. "Akio-san, this young lady has a request for you."

"Sanae, would you stop with the honorifics, please?" Akio complained.

A request? I didn't know anything about this. I looked to Kotomi, who was giggling, apparently at the exchange. "What's going on?" I asked her.

"Now now, you don't need to know about this," Sanae admonished me gently as she took me by the arm and scooted me away. "Why don't you tell me about what you want to do for your career?"

"W-Well," I stammered as I gave several glances behind me. "I have the job at the recycling shop but…I'm not really sure at this point."

Once we were a good distance away she released me. It was then that I realized that the twins had come with us. Was this going to be a public humiliation or something?

"Surely you must have something you want to do," I heard her saying. "Everybody has a skill of some kind that they can use or a dream that they aspire to."

I really didn't want to talk about it, but if she needed the distraction from her pain… "I…I don't know. Right now I'm just enjoying my time with Kotomi and planning our wedding. I have thought about a career, but I don't know what I'm good at….well, other than fixing stuff."

"I understand," she replied, and I noticed that the twins were looking back and forth between us like they were watching a tennis match. "But I'm not talking about what you're good at; I'm asking what you want to do."

I glanced over at Kyou's expectant look. "I guess…" I hadn't really thought about this.

"C'mon Tomoya, we won't make fun of you," Kyou said, then winked. "Well, Ryou won't at least."

The truth was, I wanted to find out why Nagisa died, and where she went after she died. "I guess the closest I could say is that I'd like to learn about life and share that knowledge with others."

Sanae angled her head. "When you say 'learn about life', what do you mean?"

"Like," I looked up at the sky as though it had the answer. "…why we're here, what our lives are for, where we go after-" I caught myself before I could finish; I didn't know how Nagisa's mom would react.

She didn't seem upset, though. "Where we go after we die?"

I just nodded, not trusting words at that point.

Her eyes misted as she gave me a sad smile. "When you do find out, will you come back and tell me?"

My mind blanked for a moment; I really hadn't expected that kind of response. "Uh, sure. No problem."

I watched as she shifted her gaze off to the distance. "I've been wanting to know why she was given to us and where she is now." She looked back to me. "I know that we have her ashes in our urn at home, but that is not her."

I swallowed hard, not knowing what to say, other than: "I'll do my best. For you and your husband. And for Nagisa."

She stepped up to me and laid a hand on my face; it felt like when Kotomi would do it, but different. "I believe you, and I believe you can do it." She gave me that sad smile again. "That's a mother's intuition, so you can trust it."

I heard a sniffle to the side, and I looked to see the twins holding each other with tears in their eyes.

"What's up with you two?" I half-asked, half-barked.

"I believe in you, Okazaki-kun," Ryou whimpered.

"Tomoya…" Kyou, too?

This was starting to feel a little corny, so I turned back to Sanae. "So that's-"

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi's happy voice interrupted as she bounded over. "You want to be a philosopher?!" I could have sworn that there were stars in her eyes.

I thought about it for a moment. "Yeah…I guess so. Huh, I never thought of it that way."

Kotomi was positively glowing. "I have tried to read books on philosophy and the like, but they are much harder than Mommy and Daddy's papers."

I stifled a snort. There were books out there too hard to Kotomi to understand? I pinched myself…nope, I was awake.

"If they're too hard for her, then there's no way you'll ever understand them, brat," Akio commented offhandedly, cigarette in mouth, as he joined the group. "Do your best, then."

I blinked; was that a vote of confidence just now? Rather than sabotage myself by asking about it, I simply said: "I will."

Akio made a point of stretching side-to-side. "Enough talking; who wants to play baseball?"

"I'm in!" cheered Kyou.

"I-I guess…" Fujibayashi decided.

"I'll cheer," Sanae offered.

We looked to Kotomi. "I-I will cheer as well," she said.

"We still don't have enough people to play, though," I pointed out.

Akio gave me a knowing smile before he put his finger and thumb in his mouth and whistled. Seconds later a swarm of people seemed to come out of nowhere. How did he do that? "Now we should have enough," he decided.

* * *

"I'm getting some big hits today!" Akio shouted as he came to a stop on first base. He turned toward us as we sat at the table and yelled, "Did you see that, Sanae?"

"Yes! I saw it clearly!" his wife replied.

Akio was apparently not content with the praise: "You've fallen in love with me again, haven't you?"

I hid my smirk behind a hand as Sanae gushed, "Yes! You're wonderful, Akio-san!"

"Aren't I?" he boasted, finishing with a laugh.

While Kyou stepped into the batter's box I took the opportunity to look over what was left of lunch; there was still a lot left. Did they really need to make so much?

"Did you like the sandwiches I made?" Kotomi had apparently caught me eyeing the leftovers.

"Huh? Oh…yeah, they were great!" I had eaten from all the dishes we brought especially because she'd made them, but I made a point of finding a chicken sandwich and stuffing it in my mouth. "Never tasted better cooking,"

I guess she found my stuffed face funny since she giggled in response.

We were interrupted by Akio shouting at me: "Brat! You're up to bat! Hurry up and get in the batter's box!"

I quickly swallowed the rest of my sandwich. "All right!" I shouted back. I got to my feet and sent Kotomi a smile. "Well, I'm off."

"Good luck, Tomoya-kun," she replied with a smile.

Once I got to the batter's box, though, I started to worry. Would I be able to swing the bat with my shoulder the way it was? I glanced at Kotomi, who waved.

I mentally prepared myself as the pitcher wound up…

*CRACK*

I watched, amazed, as the ball soared over everyone's heads.

"All right! Good one, brat!" I heard Akio yell as he ran to third base and I ran to first.

Flush with excitement, I turned to Kotomi. "Did you see that, Kotomi-chan?"

"Yes!" Kotomi called excitedly, with her hands clasped before her. "I saw it quite clearly." How cute; it sounded like she was imitating Sanae.

My eyes nearly bugged out when I heard Akio's next words: "You've fallen in love with him again, haven't you?"

"Oh, absolut-!" Kotomi cut herself off, but not soon enough to prevent the two of us from blushing furiously.

In spite of the blush I felt the blood drain from my face as I turned to Akio, who briefly stood dumbfounded before laughing hysterically.


	21. Old and New

**Chapter Twenty-One: Old and New**

I brought a cup of water to Kotomi as she rested in the shade of a tree close to the baseball field. "You okay?"

"I am fine," she answered as she accepted the cup from me. "Thank you."

"I didn't expect Pops to say something like that," I commented. I had taken to calling him 'Pops' as a mild insult after his little stunt.

She deliberately swallowed her water before responding. "I believe that he was teasing me."

"Well that's kinda obvious, but why?"

Her cheeks, which had returned to their normal color, pinked again. "I believe that he was teasing me because of the request I made earlier."

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me; what did you ask him about earlier?"

Her blush deepened. "I am sorry, Tomoya-kun, but it is a surprise."

I was a little hurt, but Kotomi was anything but a liar so I let it go. If it was a surprise, I would find out eventually anyway. I figured in the end that it would all work out. "Well, all right. I trust you."

She gave me another smile before taking another sip. I returned the smile before turning to watch the others.

Akio had apparently decided to take a break from baseball; he leaned back on his elbows next to his wife, occasionally yelling something to the people who were still playing. Kyou and Fujibayashi had already had turns at bat and were standing on second and third base. The rest of the people were playing ball or milling about, talking with each other; I figured they were the Furukawas' neighbors.

I watched as Akio got to his feet and made his way over to us.

"You okay, Kotomi-chan?" he asked when he got close enough.

Wait…'Kotomi-chan'?

"I am fine, thank you," she replied. "You surprised me."

"I guess so," he said with a smile as he put his hands on his knees to lean down to look her more in the eye more easily. "I'm sorry about that." He jerked a thumb in my direction. "I don't mind embarrassing Brat here, but I didn't mean to upset you like that."

"Hey!" I protested.

"I am fine," she repeated. "Please do not worry about me."

"All right," he said as he straightened. Then he shifted his gaze to me. "If you're done hitting on your woman, I'm ready for us to play again."

Kotomi spoke before I could: "If it is okay with you, I would like Tomoya-kun to stay with me."

He looked back to her and his eyebrows raised. "Looks like you got a reprieve, brat." He lifted a hand in a wave as he turned to walk back. "Have fun, you two."

I watched him for a bit as he walked back toward his wife before turning to Kotomi. "You sure you don't want to watch me play?" I asked with a slight smile.

Her cheeks pinked again as she shook her head. "No. Please stay."

I knew someday that I might have to learn to say 'no' to her, but it wouldn't be this day. "All right."

She shifted uncomfortably. "There is something I would like to do with you."

I looked around us. "It's not reading books is it?" I didn't see any around, but… "I don't think it'd be polite to read at someone else's party."

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed; then she looked at the ground. "It was…a game we used to play as children."

"A game, huh?" I was genuinely surprised. "Which one?"

She drew her shoulders up, like a turtle trying to retreat into its shell. "…Tag…?"

"Tag?" I repeated. "I thought you didn't like tag."

"I…did not like it," she admitted. "But…But it has been a long time since we have had a chance to play together."

I looked back to find a group of kids milling around. "Well, I guess I could grab some kids and-"

"No," she interrupted as she gently placed her hand on my arm. "Just…us."

I think I understood. "For old time's sake, eh?" I then smiled at her shy nod. "Okay then, if you're up to it."

She smiled and gently squeezed my arm. "Tag," she said as she started to get up.

She should have known me better than that because it took all of two seconds for me to reach out and tap her ankle. "Tag!"

"Tomoya-kun!" She turned around with the second-cutest pout – I was sure that I had seen cuter in a prior chapter. "That is not fair!"

I gave her what I hoped was a playful smile. "Hey, all's fair in love and tag."

Her pout remained. "I do not recall reading that anywhere. I seem to recall that it says-"

"I give! I give! Just spare me the history lesson!" I said as I quickly raised my hands in defeat. "What do you need me to do?"

Her pout vanished, replaced by a thoughtful look, her finger by her lips and her eyes pointed upward. I marveled at how sudden the change was. "Well, you used to give me to the count of five." She looked back at me. "Could we do something like that?"

"A five-count?"

She nodded. "We could try that and see if it works."

"I don't know how we'd determine that…" I muttered, but to her I said, "Sure. We can see if it…works. Ready, and…go!"

A smile of pure joy spread across her face as she turned and started to run. Unfortunately, her running speed hadn't improved much over the years, so by the time I got to 'five' she was only a couple dozen feet from me.

I shook my head with a smile of my own and trotted off after her. I could have easily caught up with her, but I didn't want to spoil her fun. She giggled as she changed directions repeatedly, and I had to admit that just seeing her having fun felt good. I deliberately got close a couple of times and reached out just to hear her squeal with delight.

After a couple of minutes I decided that I wanted to be chased for a while, so I closed the distance and gently tapped her shoulder. "Tag!" I yelled and started backpedalling away.

"Oh! You!" She wasn't able to change direction quickly enough and nearly lost her footing as she turned to chase me. "Wait!"

"If I did that it wouldn't be tag, would it?" I said while keeping a safe distance.

This went on for a bit, with Kotomi tagging me and vice versa. Some kids tried to join in but wandered off again when neither of us would tag them. It was a private game, after all.

It was her turn to chase me, but she was looking really tired. "Want to call it quits, Kotomi-chan?"

I think she misunderstood my intent because she puffed out her cheeks and said, "I am fine! Here I come!"

I deliberately ran more slowly to make it easier for her to tag me so we could end this; I was getting concerned that her pride would outlast her stamina. I even let an arm trail behind me to give her something to tag. After a few seconds, I turned to see how close she was. Unfortunately she was a lot closer than I expected and in the process of turning around my feet got caught up in hers and we both started to fall.

I reflexively grabbed her and held her tightly to my chest, one hand on her back and the other behind her head as I let myself fall backwards onto the grass. We both 'oof'ed as we hit the ground.

From our prone position I looked down. She didn't seem hurt. Even though the ground was soft where we had fallen, I knew that Kotomi wasn't the most durable. "Kotomi-chan, are you okay?"

I felt her move, so I removed my hand from the back of her head, and she looked up at me. "I am okay. Thank you, Tomoya-kun."

"Good."I breathed a sigh of relief as I started to sit up. "I'd hate to think that you could've-"

I was surprised when she pushed me back down. I turned surprised eyes to her face; she simply…gazed at me. "Kotomi…chan…?"

She slid up my body to bring her face much closer to mine; the sensation was…interesting. "Tomoya-kun?" She blinked away a tear.

I brought a hand up to wipe away another tear. "Are…Are you okay?"

She nodded before lowering her head until our lips touched.

That public displays of affection were taboo in Japan was the farthest thing from my mind as she kissed me, and I let my eyes fall shut and just enjoyed the feel of…her.

It could have been a second or ten minutes for all I knew, but she suddenly broke the kiss as she started crying wholeheartedly. "Kotomi-chan? What's wrong?"

"Nothing! She cried into my shoulder. "I-I am so happy that…that…it is too much!"

I smiled as I held her tightly again. The poor girl was overwhelmed by her own feelings, huh? "Why…" I started to say before I felt my throat constrict with sympathetic emotion. "Why are you so happy?"

She answered when her sobs let her: "You! You make me so happy! I am happy when you are here!" Still crying, she slid back down me to rest her head on my chest.

Me? I made her happy? The idea brought tears to my own eyes as I gave her an extra squeeze and let her cry as long as she wanted.


	22. Pairing Off

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Pairing Off**

Kotomi had settled down, but we continued to lay on the grass…well, I laid on the grass, serving as an oversized mat for Kotomi. At some point I had started absently caressing the back of her head; her hair was so soft. Even though she had stopped crying she was still warmer than usual, and I could feel her hot breath through the fabric of my shirt.

"Tomoya-kun?"

"Hm?"

"We are getting married, are we not?"

"Yup, we are." I gave her a gentle squeeze.

I felt her sigh; I knew her well enough to know that it was a happy one. "I cannot wait." She angled her head to look up at me. "I cannot wait until-"

"All right, you two, get a room or something." Kotomi's words were interrupted by a familiar voice. We looked over to see Kyou with her fists on her hips and mock irritation on her face. "The sight of you two is making me sick."

"Jealous, Onee-chan?" Fujibayashi quipped before quickly covering her mouth. If Kyou noticed, she didn't let on.

"Fine," I said as Kotomi and I got to our feet. "Shall we, then?" I extended my hand toward her and sent her a wink, hoping she'd get the hint.

"Tom-" She cut herself off, then nodded. Without missing another beat she gently swatted my hand. "What'cha talkin' 'bout?"

I had to contain myself as both of the twins' jaws dropped.

"I can't believe it! Finally!" Kyou exploded when she finally got her wits about her. "How long did we work on that?!"

"I wouldn't count on a repeat performance," I said. "This may have been a one-time-only."

"What the heck?" Kotomi 'retorted'.

"Okay, maybe a two-time-only," I amended. I reached out and laid a hand on her head. "Good job."

"Thank you," she said as she dipped her head with a blush. "It surprised me as well."

It was then that I noticed that things were starting to wind down at the baseball field; there were fewer people, not to mention that the sun was definitely lower in the sky. Had Kotomi and I fallen asleep?

Pops confirmed it as he approached us. "Have a good nap, you two?"

"I guess so," I said as I felt a sudden need to stretch. "Did everyone have fun? Looks like a lot of them are gone."

"I think so," he replied. "It seemed to take Sanae's mind off of things…which was the reason I set this whole thing up in the first place."

"That is good," Kotomi said, clearly relieved. "She – well, both of you – needed a distraction, however minor."

Pops grunted his agreement. "Listen; are you two free tonight? Sanae and I were talking earlier and we'd like to help you with your wedding. You'd have dinner with us, of course."

"But are you not-" Kotomi started to ask, but cut herself off. "Th-That would be wonderful, thank you."

I raised an eyebrow at her apparent blunder but decided to keep my thoughts to myself.

"Is it okay, Tomoya-kun?" she asked as she turned to me.

"I don't see why not," I said. "I make it a policy to rarely turn down free food."

Pops burst out laughing. "I like your style, kid. It'll definitely be worth your time! Sanae's a great cook…as long as it isn't bread."

"Pops…" I shook my head sadly. "She's right behind you."

"My bread is…My bread is…" Sure enough, Sanae had somehow managed to show up in time to hear her husband's insult.

"Sanae…?" Pops took a hesitant step towards her.

Without warning she whirled and ran away in tears. Almost at the same time, Pops ran across the street into the bakery. A few seconds later he emerged with his mouth full of bread. "FFANAE! I UFF OO!" he shouted as he ran in her last known direction.

The four of us watched rather stupidly as the whole scene unfolded. "Nagisa'a parents are… interesting, aren't they?" Fujibayashi observed.

* * *

I tugged at my collar as I watched Pops work on his cigarette across the table. It was weird; even though Nagisa was gone, I still had this feeling of 'meeting the parents'…

"So, how's the job going?" he asked after taking a draw from his cigarette.

"I-It's going fine," I replied. "The shop has its ups and downs but, overall, it's doing well."

He took another draw and blew it out, fortunately toward a nearby window instead of toward me. "Is it going to be enough if you have a kid or two?"

"P-Probably not," I stammered. Why was he interrogating me in the first place? I found myself hoping that Sanae would rescue me again.

"So what's your backup plan?"

"B-Backup plan?" I looked over at Kotomi, who simply smiled sweetly. "We're hoping to send me to school to learn philosophy."

"To do what?"

"I-I'm not sure right now."

"You're a good kid, brat, but you're not exactly inspiring faith right now."

I'd finally had enough and launched myself to my feet. "Well, what do you want? I lost my mom when I was a kid, had my future taken from me at fifteen and, for all intents and purposes, no parents! I'm doing the best I can with what I have!"

I grabbed my coat to leave; I figured I'd worn out my welcome, but Pops shot to his feet: "Wait a minute, kid: What do you mean you had your future taken from you?"

I paused, then put my coat back and sat down again. "Dad and I fought a lot. When I was about fifteen we got in a big one, and he accidentally broke my shoulder."

"And?"

"I was really into basketball…and I thought that I would be able to play professionally, so…" I shrugged. "Broken shoulder, broken future."

"Damn." He put out his cigarette and pulled a fresh one from a pack. "That sucks. Sanae and I know what it's like to have to give up your dreams."

"Thanks," I said. "And sorry about my outburst."

"Don't worry about it," he said, waving his cigarette. "But in the future, don't kick yourself out; that's my job, got it?"

I chuckled; what in interesting guy. "Yeah, I got it."


	23. More Planning

**Chapter Twenty-Three: More Planning**

"Well, that was exciting!" Sanae exclaimed as she put down the last dish. "The house hasn't been this lively in a while."

"That was exciting!" chirped Kotomi. "Eating delicious food, watching Tomoya-kun play baseball…" she trailed off as a blush crept across her face. I assumed that she was remembering Pop's antics.

"You play pretty good for having a busted shoulder," Pops commented.

I rotated my shoulder self-consciously. "I'm still learning my limits, but I'm glad that I can at least swing a bat."

"Are we ready to eat, then?" Sanae politely interrupted.

Pops glanced around at us, then the food. "It looks like it."

"Then let us put our hands together," Kotomi said before remembering where she was. "Oh! I am sorry!" she squeaked. "It is how I always do it."

Pops and Sanae exchanged smiles before Sanae gave my fiancée a loving gaze. "It's okay, Kotomi-chan; We'll do it your way this time."

"O-Okay. L-Let us put our hands together."

We followed her lead.

"Thank you for the food."

The rest of us murmured some form of gratitude.

"So," Pops started as Sanae worked on serving him udon, "how are the wedding plans coming along?"

I paused for a moment from prepping Kotomi's plate as I thought about my answer. "As far as I know we have the decorations, my suit's ready…wait, is your dress ready?"

Kotomi nodded. "Almost. The seamstress said that she needed to make a few more adjustments before it would be ready."

He nodded. "What about your wedding party?"

"Party?" I'd never heard the word used like that before.

"You know…bridesmaids and groomsmen."

"Have you decided about your bridesmaids yet?" I asked Kotomi. "I know you wanted the twins, Nishina, and…well…"

Kotomi nodded sadly.

"What?" Both Furukawas had confusion nearly written on their faces.

"I-I wanted N-Nagisa-chan to be my maid-of-honor…"

Confused looks turned to sad smiles, and Sanae scooted around the table to wrap Kotomi in a hug. "Thank you so much. That would have meant so much to her."

Kotomi could only look shyly down at her lap.

"What about Sanae-san?" I suggested.

Sanae's eyes widened in clear delight. "I would be honored!" she exclaimed before tilting Kotomi's head up to look into her eyes. "But only if you really want me to."

As expected, Kotomi's eyes became watery. "That sounds wonderful, but I would like a chance to think about it, if I could."

"Take your time," Sanae said soothingly.

"But not too much," Pops added as he looked at a calendar on a nearby wall. "If you want her, we're going to need some time to get her ready, and we're getting pretty close, here."

Kotomi nodded decisively. "I understand. I will let you know…by the end of tomorrow. Will that be okay?"

"That will be just fine," Sanae cooed as she rubbed Kotomi's head in a way that struck me as 'motherly'.

"What about you?" Pops said, jerking his chin my way.

I snorted. "I don't have any real friends…well, other than Kotomi-chan."

"What about that yellow-haired young man?" offered Sanae. "Isn't he a friend of yours?"

"Sunohara?" I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "Yes and no. Now that I think about it I haven't seen him in a long time. I don't know if he'd be interested."

"You don't sound like you consider him a friend," Sanae observed.

"Not really, I guess," I remarked. "He and I got along mainly because we were both 'delinquents'; Koumura-sensei was the one who got us together. But since we're not in school any more…" I snorted as I realized: "Actually, most of my friends have been girls."

"Tomoya-kun!"

"Well, it's true!" I turned to my fiancée. "I mean, most of my classmates wouldn't have anything to do with me because they thought I was a delinquent."

"But-" Kotomi started to protest.

"I know; I wasn't really one, but they didn't know that." As realization dawned on her face I continued. "At the beginning of the year the only ones who would have anything to do with me were Kyou and Fujibayashi…and I learned why not too long ago," I finished, my face feeling hot. "Then I met Furukawa – I mean, Nagisa – at the bottom of the hill in front of the school and our friendship started there, I think. Then I met you…" I shoved down my self-consciousness, "…and things got a lot better."

I turned to address all three of them. "But as far as any guy friends…well, like I said, they all avoided me. I probably would have avoided Sunohara if Sensei hadn't stuck us together. I think we've kinda outgrown each other." I looked up to the Furukawas' sad faces. "It's okay, really. We served our purposes to each other, so it's fine." I slipped my hand into Kotomi's. "Besides, I don't know if he'd be interested in me studying philosophy. Shoot, I don't even know if I'll be interested," I finished with a snort.

"Anyway," I continued, "if I'm the only one up there by the preacher, I'm okay with that. Might be good for me to have that clean break."

"True," Pops grunted. "By the way, brat, who's going to be your preacher?"

Kotomi and I looked at each other with wide eyes. "Crap, that's right!" I blurted.

"We do not have a preacher for our wedding!" Kotomi nearly wailed.

"You're going with a Western-style wedding, aren't you?" Sanae asked.

I glanced over at Kotomi again, who nodded. "Yeah, that's the idea."

"There's a church not too far from the bakery," Sanae suggested as she looked over at her husband. "Maybe he could do it?"

Pops snorted with a dry grin. "I've heard the guy; he's American and has a strong accent, but he really seems to care about other people."

"As long as he's willing…" I looked over at Kotomi yet again. "Can we give him a try?"

"I do not want to rush this, but we do not have a choice at this point," she despaired before taking a deep breath. "Does his church have a service on Sunday?"

"The last time we attended, there was a service at 9:30 AM," Pops offered.

I looked over to exchange smiles with Kotomi. "Want to go to church?"


	24. Pastoral Counseling

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Pastoral Counseling**

Pastor Ashton turned out to be a really neat guy. Pops was right that his Japanese wasn't very good, but I got the impression that the guy was really trying to learn and understand. He knew enough of the language to give what sounded like a good sermon, and I found myself wondering what he thought about things. Maybe that was my philosophical side coming out.

"So!" he exclaimed as Kotomi and I sat down across from him. "I understand congratulations are in order!" At my puzzled expression he continued. "The Furukawas have told me that you're getting married."

"Yes, sir," I replied. "I'm embarrassed to admit this, but we forgot to get a minister for our wedding, and they told us to talk to you."

"Well, that was kind of them," he said. "They haven't been here many times, but…well, when's your wedding?"

"June 15th."

His smile froze. "That's…not a lot of time."

"No it isn't," I acknowledged, "so I understand if you're not available-"

"Whoa, there!" he said as he held up a hand. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." He leaned back in his chair. "June 15th is a Sunday, isn't it?"

"It is," Kotomi offered.

"That might work out, then…" He stroked his chin. "What time did you have in mind?"

Crap. "We…don't have a time…do we?" I looked over to Kotomi, who shook her head with a look of shame.

I looked back to Pastor Ashton in time to catch him looking back and forth between us. "Are you two trying to do this by yourselves?"

I blinked as I realized that he was right; other than Kyou, Fujibayashi, and Nagisa, we didn't have any real help. It was true that we had managed to take care of the suit, her dress, and the decorations, but as far as planning… "I didn't realize it until just now, but yeah, we've basically been doing it ourselves." I looked over to Kotomi. "It doesn't help that Nagisa died, either; we've been dealing with that loss."

"The Furukawas' daughter, right?" he asked. When I nodded he said, "That was a real shame. She was such a sweet girl. So, she was a friend of yours?"

"A very dear friend," Kotomi said. "I miss her terribly. It has been hard for Tomoya-kun because she was in lo-"

"AH!" I cried, waving my hands in a panic. "That…he doesn't…"

Pastor gave me a sad smile. "Was she in love with you…? I'm sorry, I just realized that I didn't get your names."

"Okazaki Tomoya, and this is Ichinose Kotomi." I let my head flop down before nodding dejectedly. "She was."

"Did she ever tell you?"

"Shortly before she died."

I heard a sympathetic sigh. "I'm so sorry, Okazaki-san; that must have been difficult for you." I looked up to see him gazing at me with compassion. "I hope you don't blame yourself for her death."

I closed my eyes. "I do, kinda."

"Tomoya-kun, her parents-"

"I know, Kotomi-chan," I interrupted, "we've talked about this before, but I can't help it; she basically dies from stress after holding in her feelings for so long." I smacked my hands against my legs. "I've tried convincing myself, but…"

"Ichinose-san, we can tell him over and over again that it's not his fault, but he's having to deal with a strong sense of guilt," he said to Kotomi. "Yes, it is logical that he should not feel responsible for her death, but the fact of the matter is that he does. So, logic dictates that we factor that in rather than trying to discredit his feelings."

I heard a gasp and, alarmed, looked over to my fiancée. "Kotomi-chan; you okay?"

Kotomi had frozen in place, jaw dropped. I watched as tears started to form in her eyes. Finally she looked over at me. "Tomoya-kun, I am so sorry! I had not realized…I…I have been hurting you…"

"It's okay," I said, trying to comfort her. "You didn't mean-"

"It is not okay!" she insisted. "Instead of accepting how you feel, I have been trying to tell you how to feel!"

I had no idea what to say as she started to cry, and looked to Pastor Ashton for…something.

"She needs you to forgive her," he said matter-of-factly.

Was it really that easy? All I needed to do was forgive her? It felt weird. We Japanese apologized enough, sure, but…forgiving? Do we really do that? "K-Kotomi-chan…?" As she looked over to me, still crying, it struck me; usually when she was crying she would reach out for me, but this time she stayed where she was. In her chair.

Alone.

I couldn't accept that.

"Kotomi-chan, please don't cry," I said.

"Are you telling her to deny her feelings, now?"

I gasped as the pastor's voice cut me to my very core. He was right; what I had said could easily lead to her shoving down her feelings, and I didn't want that. "Okay, keep crying if you need to, but please listen to me."

She simply nodded and let me take her hands.

I closed my eyes and opened my heart. "What you said did hurt me, but I understand that you were trying to help me. I know you care about me a lot." After opening my eyes again I told her: "I forgive you. Please don't beat yourself up over this." I gave her a lopsided smile. "Leave the self-loathing to me."

I was afraid she wouldn't get my joke, so I was happy to see chuckles sputter through her tears. "Th-Thank you, Tomoya-kun, but…it hurts to hear you hurting yourself over this." She had calmed down quite a bit, and she let go of one of my hands to wipe at her eyes. "Nagisa-chan chose to keep it to herself so, as much as I do not want to say this…it was her own fault."

I glanced over at Pastor Ashton, who simply flashed me a smile as if to say _go on, you've got this_.

I gnawed briefly on my lower lip. "I guess it's easier to blame myself since if I'm responsible then I should be able to do something about it."

"Not an enviable position you've put yourself in," the pastor observed.

"Yeah," I agreed with a chuckle. "I guess…I just need to let her go. Maybe there was something I could have done, but seeing it in hindsight doesn't do anything…other than give me something to learn from, I guess," I finished as I exchanged smiles with Kotomi.

The creak of Pastor Ashton's chair drew our attention, and we looked over to see him leaning toward us. "You seem like really neat kids, and I'd like to help you two as much as I can, so why don't you tell me more about yourselves, a little bit of your history together as well as before you met?"

Kotomi and I spent the rest of the afternoon telling our life stories, while dealing with some hurts along the way. All in all, I think meeting with the pastor was good for us.


	25. Lab Work

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Lab Work**

I looked up in awe at the sheer size of the laboratory. Computers and screens covered the walls and the tables and desks that littered the warehouse-sized space. "Amazing…"

"Yeah," came a voice from beside me. I looked over to Kyou, whose wide eyes and open mouth probably matched my expression. "You can tell they do big things here."

"I've never seen so many computers," Fujibayashi breathed, clearly awestruck.

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi, wearing her lab coat, hurried up to me and threw herself into my chest, her cheek finding its usual resting place. Kyou cleared her throat, apparently reminding Kotomi that I wasn't the only one there. "Oh Kyou-chan, Ryou-chan! Welcome! Thank you for accepting my invitation!" she greeted, bowing to each in turn.

"No problem," Kyou replied before looking around the room. "This is… amazing."

She looked around before giggling as she looked back to me. "I had not thought about that; I suppose I am used to it by now, but I do remember being impressed when I first arrived."

'So what's this?" Kyou asked as she examined a microscope-looking device.

"That is part of…wait, let me show you something." She took my hand, interlocking her fingers with mine, and led us down several hallways. She must have been pretty excited because she was walking a lot faster than usual.

Finally, she led us through a set of double doors into a room easily the size of a warehouse. A gigantic machine dominated the center of the room.

"That thing is huge!" I couldn't help but be impressed.

"It is!" Kotomi face positively glowed as she looked back at me as she dragged me toward the machine. "This is our newest project, based on Mommy's and Daddy's research!"

Her enthusiasm was contagious, and I found myself looking forward to finding out what it did. "Something having to do with 'string theory', right?"

"Right," she answered as she stopped in front of what appeared to be a porthole like those on submarines. She then went into a lengthy explanation on how the machine worked, using words that I was sure I'd never find in any reference material. Something about 'sympathetic vibrations' and 'passive scanning' were about all I could catch.

"Wait a minute, Kotomi-chan," I tried to politely interrupt. I was starting to feel overwhelmed, and a glance at the twins showed pale faces. "We…can't follow all of this. What does this thing do? What does this window-looking thing have to do with it?"

"It…allows us to briefly look into other realities."

"The hell!" Kyou had regained her wits. "How can this thing do that?"

Kotomi smiled patiently. "Well, as I have already explained…"

"No! No, that's all right!" I quickly cut her off. To Kyou I whispered, "Are you out of your mind? Do you really want to get her started again?"

Kyou opened her mouth for what I assumed would be a snappy retort, but she simply closed her mouth and nodded apologetically.

Having hopefully averted a disaster I turned back to Kotomi, who patiently waited. "Sorry about that. So, this allows us to see other realities?"

She nodded solemnly. "To the best of our knowledge, yes. Some of the research team members have speculated that what we see could be 'ghosts' of other possibilities, of…choices not made."

"So like whether I went to the library that one day or stayed in class." I asked.

"That would be an example, yes. If you stayed in class, then there could have been a greater chance that…that…" Kotomi's happy expression faded.

"Kotomi-chan," Fujibayashi's worried voice said. "Are you okay?"

"It's okay, Kotomi-chan," I prompted. "Go on; If I stayed in class there could have been a better chance that…" my sentence faded as I realized the implications.

Kotomi and I might never have met that time.

My chest suddenly hurt.

I returned to reality and quickly looked over to Kotomi who, other than trembling all over, had become a statue. I quickly crossed the distance between us and took her in my arms, ignoring the knowing smiles from the staff. "It's okay, Kotomi-chan, it's okay. I chose the library, and I am so glad that I did."

It didn't stop her from crying softly for several minutes. It didn't stop some moisture from escaping my eyes, either.

"I am sorry," she said after settling down. "It was so sudden…I had never considered…"

"It's okay, Kotomi-chan," I tried to say soothingly. "It hit me pretty hard, too."

"Would…Would you like to take a look?" Kotomi offered.

I looked to the twins. "How about one of you?" I looked down at my fiancée. "I don't think we're ready to let go just yet."

"Mine," Kotomi agreed as she gently squeezed me.

Kyou was the first to bite. "Sure, I'll take a look."

As she approached the machine, Kotomi said, "One thing I have not told you; the viewer can only see alternatives to his or her own life." She pressed her face into me even more. "You will not see others unless they are interacting with you…the other 'you'."

"Have you looked?" Fujibayashi asked.

Kotomi nodded sadly. "My birthday could have been wonderful."

"Oh, you poor thing…" Fujibayashi made her way over and began rubbing Kotomi's back.

I noticed that Kyou was looking a little pale. "You going to be okay?" I asked.

"Huh?" She blinked. "Of course, idiot." She marched over to the 'porthole' and looked in. "Is this thing even turned on? I can't see a-"

"Onee-chan…?"

We watched, stunned, as a myriad of emotions crashed across Kyou's face. Tears, smiles, anger…she showed it all. It was as though the rest of us had disappeared.

She was finally able to pull away after several minutes. She looked exhausted.

"Onee-chan…?" her sister repeated.

Kyou's eyes had a haunted look as she approached us. First she looked at her sister. "Ryou…" she reached out with shaking hands and wrapped her in a hug. "Thank God you're all right…"

"Y-Yes…I'm okay," Fujibayashi said, trying to console her sister while giving us a puzzled look.

Kotomi and I looked at each other; Kyou never acted like this. "Is she going to be okay?" I asked.

"It will be a little while," she replied. "It will depend on how long it takes for her to assimilate the new information."

"Assimilate…" I mused. "Just what the hell did she see in there?"

Eventually Kyou released her sister and made her way over to Kotomi and me. She stared at us…me in particular, I thought…before running from the room in tears.

"I-I guess I'll go next," Fujibayashi offered.

Apparently she got much of the same kind of show that Kyou did, because when she was done she walked right up to us and stared into my face for a long time. Then she started breathing heavily before running from the room as well.

Suddenly I wasn't so interested in looking into the porthole anymore. But the others had looked, so…

I gently removed myself from Kotomi's embrace and walked over to the porthole. I sent a smile over my shoulder. "See you in a few," I said.

I looked into the window and saw…possibilities…


	26. Recollections of Choices Not Made

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Recollections of Choices Not Made**

"Tomoya-kun…?"

I blinked and looked up from my place on the couch to Kotomi's worried face. "Yeah, Kotomi-chan? Wait, which Kotomi-chan are you?"

Her lower lip trembled, and I knew that I'd asked a bad question. "I…I am your fiancée. H-Have you forgotten?"

I sat up and shook my head to try to clear it. "No! No…I'm just a little confused right now. Fiancée…you're my fiancée. Fiancée…" As I repeated the word I noticed warmth in my heart. "Right. Damn, that seemed so real. All of them…"

"All of them?" Kotomi sat down next to me, worried expression still in place. "What did you see?"

I looked around the room; Kyou and Fujibayashi were in other chairs, holding each other and talking quietly. They still looked pretty shaken. "Are they okay?"

Kotomi looked over as well. "They are doing well." She looked back to me. "You were catatonic for a long time."

"How long?"

She briefly glanced at a clock on the wall. "About two hours." She took my hand and looked deeply into my eyes, "Please, Tomoya-kun; tell me what you saw."

Talking about what I saw could help me sort out my thoughts…an image of Pastor Ashton flashed through my mind, which gave me an idea. "I will, but I'd like us to try something."

Kotomi cocked her head. "What is it?"

* * *

"Ryou…Ryou was on the bus that crashed…" Kyou had become a teary mess and trembled as she held Fujibayashi's hand. "I saw…her…her body and…it was like part of me had died…"

"Damn," I muttered. "Sorry Kyou, that had to be rough."

She nodded before reaching out for another hug from Fujibayashi.

"Did you see anything that made you happy?" her sister asked. "We saw you smile several times."

"Hold on, Fujibayashi," I interrupted. "Let keep it to one at a time so we have time to recover, okay?"

"Sorry," she replied meekly. "I forgot."

"Who's next?" I asked as I looked between my fiancée and Fujibayashi. "I'll go next if you're not com-"

"I will go next," Kotomi interrupted. "I have a happy one."

Kyou lifted her head from her sister's shoulder. "Good, 'cause I could really use one."

"I believe that the term 'bittersweet' would be more appropriate, because the alternate was happier than reality."

"If you're up to it," I encouraged.

She took a deep breath before she spoke. "M-My parents must have cancelled their meeting to spend my birthday with me. I saw…the yard beautifully decorated, with balloons and streamers, and a big banner that had 'Happy Birthday, Kotomi-chan' written on it."

"That sounds wonderful," Fujibayashi breathed.

Kotomi nodded. "A-And Tomoya-kun was there, and he had brought many of his friends, and we played and played…it was wonderful."

"I was there?" I smiled at the thought of my alternate self. "Did I give you anything?"

My eyes widened at her blush. "I am not to that point yet, Tomoya-kun." She straightened in her chair. "The cake was shaped like a butterfly and it had white frosting over chocolate, and we had mint ice cream with it."

"That sounds like you," I quipped.

She dipped her head as her blush deepened. "I did not get many gifts, but I loved them all. Mommy and Daddy got me a huge teddy bear, bigger than I was! The other kids gave me a lot of candy, and…Tomoya-kun…Tomoya-kun…"

"Yes? Yes? Tomoya-kun what?" Kyou had apparently recovered nicely. "What did he give you?"

Kotomi took another deep breath as she started to tremble. "Well, he gave me…he gave me…" her blush not only deepened, but spread.

"Kotomi-chan…?" Fujibayashi looked a little worried.

"Jeez Kotomi, you're acting like he kissed you or something!" Kyou blurted out.

Kotomi's reaction was…interesting; she buried her face in her hands and squealed…several times, in fact.

The twins were kneeling on the floor in front of her before I knew it. "He did?" Kyou asked with a goofy smile. "He kissed you?!"

Kotomi couldn't speak but nodded, hands and all, and the twins slowly turned to look at me.

"Okazaki-kun…?" Fujibayashi's tone was one of disbelief.

"You dog, Tomoya!" Kyou's tone was not one of disbelief. "A little ladies' man at, what, eight years old?"

"Shut up," I replied, and then I reached out to Kotomi. "You okay?" I asked as I put an arm around her.

She grabbed onto the front of my shirt and buried her face in it. "Mine. Mine!"

I looked from my molten-faced fiancée to Fujibayashi. "Maybe you should tell yours, now?"

* * *

"…and then, I threatened to get myself pregnant and have his baby!" Fujibayashi finished before gnawing on her knuckle in embarrassment.

Her embarrassment was justified though, with her antics to try to keep Hiragi from killing himself…or letting himself die.

"…he finally agreed to some kind of experimental treatment, but the image faded before I could see how it turned out." Fujibayashi finished. "I really hope he lived."

"With you by his side," Kyou said as she put her hands on either side of Fujibayashi's face, "I'm sure he did."

The younger twin smiled sadly as she placed her hands over Kyou's.

"Well, I guess it's my turn," I grunted. "I think I have everything sorted out…I'm just going to tell all of mine at once, since they're shorter than any of yours. Is that okay?"

Three heads nodded agreement.

I licked my lips for what was probably going to be the most awkward time of my life. I was also more than a little concerned about how Kotomi would react.

"I'm actually really glad I did this, because it might explain some of the weird experiences that I've had lately."

"What do you mean?" Kyou asked.

I turned to Kotomi. "Do you remember when you were teaching me math and I suddenly fell out of my chair?"

"I do."

"Well…" Here goes nothing… "…I saw the girl from that…vision, or whatever it was."

"You know her?!" Kyou asked, incredulous.

"That 'me' does, apparently," I replied. "Because…" I flicked an apologetic glance at Kotomi. "…because I was on my back in a park with her lying on top of me and we were kissing…I-I mean, her and the other me."

We all jumped as Kotomi hit the floor, fainted dead away.

* * *

"My God, Tomoya…" Kyou breathed. "Fuuko, Yukine, Tomoyo…"

"…don't forget us, Onee-chan," Fujibayashi added.

Kyou roughly rubbed at her head. "I know, I know!" she exclaimed. "I saw!"

My eyebrows jumped. "Wait, you saw?"

Kyou nodded slightly. "I think I saw the other side of what you talked about; you played basketball in the Olympics but lost in the first round." She smiled fondly. "I was holding little Ryu who was watching his daddy play for Japan." A tear slid from her eye. "But…he doesn't really exist, does he?"

None of us knew what to say to that.

We heard a groan as Kotomi sat up from the bed she was laying in. "I was…asleep?"

"You were unconscious, yeah," I replied. "But I think it was more from shock than fatigue."

Kotomi paled; I assumed that she was remembering… "Tomoya-kun…"

"Oh no you don't!" I grabbed her by the shoulders. "No more passing out for you!"

"But Tomoya-kun…"

"That wasn't me," I reminded her. "That was a different me. You should understand this better than any of us."

"But-"

I took her in my arms and held her tightly. "Yours."

Without warning, she pushed me, knocking me out of my chair and onto the floor. Before I realized what had happened, she crawled on top of me, planting her lips on mine. "Mmph!"

After regaining control of my mouth I yelled, "What was that for?!"

"Mine," she said. "Not hers."

"Right," I agreed. "I told you that. Why did you need to knock…" I trailed off as it hit me: she was jealous because Fuuko kissed the other me that way.

"Because that is what she did," pouted Kotomi, confirming my theory.

"Kotomi-chan…" I sighed heavily as I tried to figure out how to console her. "Look, you've put me in a bad spot, here. I can't help the choices that my other selves may have made; I can only control the choices that I make. Do you understand?"

Kotomi kept her pout but nodded slowly.

"So the only choices that Tomoya makes are the ones that this Tomoya makes. I'm not going to start apologizing for the choices that those other Tomoyas made." My head was starting to hurt. "I don't know their circumstances…I barely even know mine!"

Kotomi sat on my stomach, still pouting but still listening.

"I remember Nagisa asking me if I believed in alternate realities. I told her that I hadn't thought about it since I had enough to deal with in this one," I said, chuckling at the memory.

"That does sound like you," Kyou quipped.

"T-Tomoya-kun?"

I reached up and placed my hand on her face; she reflexively pressed against my hand. "Kotomi-chan, I don't know what it's going to take to wipe that cute pout off your face. All I can say is: I love you, you mean the world to me, and I'm really glad I chose to visit the library that day."

A trembling lower lip cracked the pout, and she slowly lowered herself onto my chest to cry softly. "I am sorry, Tomoya-kun," she wailed. "I am so sorry…"

I wrapped my arms around her as the twins made their way over to offer Kotomi what comfort they could.


	27. An Eternal Promise

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: An Eternal Promise**

I tugged on my collar as I waited at the front of the sanctuary for the music to start. Pastor Ashton stood nearby with a huge smile, bordering on goofy. He had thanked me many times for 'allowing me to officiate at your wedding'. On his other side stood Kotomi's bridesmaids: Sanae, Kyou, and Ryou. All three of them glowed; I suspected it was due in part to them wearing wedding-type dresses.

The church was packed. Kotomi and I had only planned for a few people, but when the church found out that the daughter of Koutarou and Mizue Ichinose was getting married they invited themselves to the wedding. On the bright side, we didn't have to worry about food for the reception afterwards. Our only concern was that Kotomi would freeze up with all the people around.

My nervousness spiked as the music began, and I saw the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life.

Kotomi appeared at the door at the entrance to the sanctuary. Her white wedding dress had many layers to it which constantly shifted, making her look almost ethereal. The veil nearly completely hid her face from me, though I knew that I'd recognize those deep violet eyes anywhere. She carried a bouquet of flowers of many different colors, somehow adding to her mystique.

She stopped a few feet from the altar and stood there, trembling.

"Who gives this woman away?" I heard Pastor Ashton ask.

My eyes widened as Pops stood up and walked to her side to face us. "I stand as Koutarou-san's representative." He then took her hand and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek before leading her up to us and giving her hand to me.

"Thanks, Pops," I whispered to him through the lump in my throat.

He smiled and winked at me before turning and returning to his seat.

"These two have chosen to write their own vows," Pastor Ashton said to the audience. Looking to us he said, "Which of you will go first?"

The question was a formality since we had decided earlier, and Kotomi pulled out a sheet of paper. Normally she could memorize something of this length, but with her nerves the way they were… "I cannot tell you how happy I was when you came into the library that day. I had not seen you for ten years, and to see you again made me so happy!" She dabbed at her eyes with a kerchief before continuing to read. "And then…a-and then, the things we did together…the-the violin recital, our fun times with Kyou-chan, Ryou-chan, and Nagisa-chan…? They made me love you even more." She paused to take a deep breath. "After meeting you again, I was afraid that you had changed and become someone I would not recognize, but…" She looked like she was losing it. "…but you are the same Tomoya-kun that I have always loved, the same Tomoya-kun that looks out for and cares about others, and…and…I love you so much!" she finished, trembling.

I could hear several women in the audience quietly crying. A few men, too.

"That was beautiful, Ichinose-san," Pastor Ashton said before turning to me. "Okazaki-san?"

I pulled out my sheet and glanced at it. The words looked nice, but they seemed so…dry. I put the sheet back in my pocket. "Kotomi-chan, I can't tell you how glad I am that I found myself in your parents' yard some ten years ago. I'll also never be able to tell you how sorry I am that I wasn't there for you after your parents died. I know I can never make it up to you, but I can promise you this: I will never leave you. My place is by your side, and your place is at mine. My eyes are only for you, Kotomi-chan." I looked at her meaningfully with that statement. "I really look forward to making a home with you, raising a family with you, and growing old with you." I chuckled lightly. "I may not have a lot of intelligence to offer, but my heart is yours. Thank you for falling for a nobody like me."

Even through the veil I could see tears glistening in her eyes. "Ooooooh, may I kiss him, now?" Kotomi asked while gently stomping a foot, causing the audience to chuckle.

"Not yet, sweetheart," the pastor replied. "Just a little longer." He then addressed the audience: "If there is any reason that these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

You could hear a pin drop in the sanctuary.

"Do you, Okazaki Tomoya-san, take Ichinose Kotomi-san, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death you do part?"

I couldn't believe it. Was this really happening? "I do," I replied as I slipped the ring on her finger. It must have been overwhelming for her; she started crying softly.

"Do you, Ichinose Kotomi-san, take Okazaki Tomoya-san, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death you do part?"

"I-I do," she managed through her tears as her shaking hands slipped the ring onto my finger. "I have waited for so long…"

Pastor Ashton smiled kindly at us. "Good for you, sweetheart," he said warmly, going off-script. He then glanced at the crowd. "I think this is the quietest this church has ever been," he quipped, causing another wave of chuckles. He then grew serious. "Okazaki-san, Ichinose-san, you have pledged yourselves to each other in the witness of these people and in the witness of God. Be firm in your commitment to one another; do not give evil a chance to take root in your marriage. Choose each day to love each other, for love is more than just a feeling; it is a choice, one that must be made daily. May He hold you both to account, and may those present also hold you to account in order to maintain and enrich this most holy of unions."

"By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife." He leaned over to Kotomi. "You may kiss him now," he finished with a wink.

We both laughed at the sudden change in plan as I lifted the veil, revealing beautiful, if somewhat puffy, violet eyes, flushed cheeks, a radiant smile and…we kissed.

Over the cheers we could barely make out Pastor Ashton's voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to introduce to you: Tomoya and Kotomi Okazaki! "


	28. The Joining of Two Hearts

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Joining of Two Hearts**

"Whew!" I exclaimed as we trudged through the door to our home. "I'm exhausted!"

"I am tired as well," my bride said as I shut the door. "I am glad that so many people wanted to celebrate our wedding, but it was still…tiring."

I smiled at her. "I'll admit, I was worried about you, whether you'd be okay around all those people."

She returned my smile. "It was difficult, but…" she took my hand. "…you were there, so I was okay."

"I'd hope I was there!" I quipped. "It'd suck if I missed my own wedding."

"Tomoya-kun!" she exclaimed. "You know what I mean!"

I raised my free hand in surrender. "Yes, yes, I know what you mean!" I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath, allowing myself to exhale all of the stress of the day. "This might sound weird, but I'm glad we're finally married."

"Not yet," she said.

"What?" I opened my eyes and looked over to her. "But we just had the…"

Kotomi looked up at me with a meaningful expression, an intensity I hadn't ever seen before.

I felt really hot as I realized what she likely meant. "Y-Yeah, when you put it that way…"

The mood felt solemn and serious as she led me up the stairs and down the hallway to- "Kotomi-chan, isn't this your parents' room?"

She stopped before the door and turned toward me. "Not anymore." She blinked tears from her eyes. "This is our home, Tomoya-kun…so this is now our room. I miss Mommy and Daddy, but I cannot let my memories of them run our lives."

I blinked. What an amazing girl. "That makes sense." I swallowed hard. "Then let's go."

* * *

It felt weird knowing that she and I would be sharing a bed from now on. Even when she and I agreed to marry we had slept in separate rooms, so I guess I unconsciously assumed that it would always be that way.

I fell back on the bed, throwing my arms above my head. "Man, I'm tired."

"Tomoya-kun?"

I sat up again to a shock: Kotomi stood with her back to me and her hair pulled to the side, revealing the zipper to her dress. "Y-Yeah?" I stammered.

"P-Please unzip my d-dress." Her voice was clearly shaking; in fact, I could see her trembling. The poor girl was nervous.

"Uh, sure…" was about all my poor stupid brain could manage as I stood and made my way over to her. As I reached out toward her, I noticed that my own hands were shaking. Apparently I was nervous as well. Who wouldn't be?

It was almost like a ceremony, the way I carefully unzipped her wedding gown. I heard her take a deep breath before letting the soft, shimmery fabric fall from her shoulders to the floor. She stepped out of the ring of cloth and I quickly picked it up and gently put it on a nearby chair.

I turned around to face a goddess. Kotomi stood facing me with her hands folded in front of her. She still had her undergarments on, but the skin that I could see nearly glowed in the low light. Was the awe that I felt like what the first man felt when he saw the first woman? "Woooow," I breathed the only word my mind could come up with. "Y-You're so beautiful."

"Th-Thank you," she replied blushing shyly. She turned again, moving her hair, and my stomach nearly slithered to my shoes: D-Did she want me to finish undressing her?

I swallowed hard. This was like unwrapping the best gift I could ever get…and the giver was also the gift! The thought left me humbled as I reached out again and carefully, always carefully with her, removed the rest of her clothing. Then, wanting to preserve her modesty, I gently picked up my 'blushing bride' and put her in bed.

Before my nerves had a chance to stop me I turned and quickly removed my clothing, also laying it carefully over another chair. Then I joined her under the covers and simply gazed at her face, into those large violet eyes. I was almost afraid to touch her.

"Tomoya-kun, are you okay?" she asked softly.

I shook my head slightly against the pillow. "No. To be honest, I'm scared out of my mind."

She giggled lightly. "Me, too. I am worried that I will not be good enough for you. After all, I have never-" She cut herself off with a cute blush.

My chest swelled, humbled. I would be her first and only… "I'm honored, Kotomi-chan, really. I just…I don't know what to do right now," I admitted. "I'm afraid that I'll hurt you or something."

"Well…we could always start with this." She took my hand and rested it against her cheek. I smiled at her usual reaction; pressing her face to it and sighing with a smile. Her expression then turned serious, looking me in the eye as she slid my hand to her shoulder.

We explored each other, discovering where the other liked to be touched, didn't like to be touched. I learned so much about her during that time; I felt like I learned more about her than I did during all our other times combined. As my finger passed over a particular spot that caused her to giggle, I realized that it was because we were seeing each other as we really were; no hiding, no trappings, no secrets.

And we kissed. We kissed more than I thought lips were made to handle. Kotomi really seemed to like kissing.

After we had been exploring each other for a while Kotomi started tugging on my arm, pulling me toward her. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Did I mess up?"

She shook her head, slid forward to give me another kiss that lit fireworks behind my eyelids, then pulled on my arm again, and I understood that it was time.

I carefully allowed myself to be pulled above her. I could not believe what we were about to do.

"Tomoya-kun…" I heard her say through a trembling voice. "I love you so much..."

I looked down into her misty eyes. "I love you, too. Words just aren't enough," I lamented. Then I gave her one more kiss on her forehead, letting my lips linger for a time before looking into her eyes again; they were full of love and trust as I readied myself to enter my bride. My wife. "Are you ready?"

"Tomoya-kun…" Apparently she couldn't say anything more and simply nodded.

The significance of what I was being allowed to do wasn't lost to me, and my eyes widened at the new sensation that threatened to overwhelm me. I looked to my wife's eyes and we exchanged embarrassed smiles when I found hers just as wide.

I came up against her barrier and paused.

"T-Tomoya-kun?"

I looked into her eyes once again and remembered us a children, playing hide-and-seek among the bushes of the yard outside this very house.

I smiled softly as I thought back on the circumstances that brought us together in the library for the first time, stopping her from cutting up books and then eating the lunches she shared with me.

I remembered all the times that I tried to teach her about humor. I recalled all of our efforts to make new friends for her.

And finally, I thought about all the work that I put into restoring the backyard and the confessions of love that it led to.

I had a lot of history with this girl and her family. Kotomi and I had become united in so many ways.

The pressure of her hands on my backside snapped me out of my reverie and I slid forward, breaking through the last barrier between us and uniting us in that one, significant way.


	29. Cultivation

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Cultivation**

I awoke with a groan at the morning light that hit my eye. I started to stretch, but something was weighing down my left arm so I looked over… "Oh, yeah…"

Kotomi slept peacefully, her face just inches from mine. She lay on her side facing me, and the breath of her slumber tickled my face. Her beautiful eyes were closed, of course, and I smiled as I realized that she had long, full eyelashes. Why hadn't I noticed this before?

Maybe because we had never slept together before. Slept together…my thoughts went back to last night, and I felt my face grow hot again. I knew that there wasn't anything to be embarrassed about, but I had never felt that…vulnerable…before.

A smile lit up Kotomi's face for just a moment and, with a smile of my own, I wondered what she was dreaming about. Me, hopefully; I liked making her smile.

I couldn't help myself, and I shifted her slightly so I could place a gentle kiss on her forehead. Unfortunately, that had the effect of waking her up as she grunted and started to stir.

"Good morning," I said softly.

Large, violet-colored eyes opened and looked up at me. "Tomoya-kun…" she said sleepily, a soft smile on her face. "Good morning."

"Sleep well?"

She nodded as she reached up to rest a hand on my face. "Very."

"W-Well g-good," I stammered as I realized the implications of my question. "I'm sorry for waking you."

"Mm-mmnn," she replied, shaking her head. "I would hate to sleep away our time together." She sat up and started to rub her eyes, but stopped. "Oh. I am still undressed."

I contained a chuckle to ask, "Do you want to shower first, or should I?"

"I will go first…thank you, Tomoya-kun." She started to look around for something to wrap herself in, so I quickly got out of bed, naked as a jaybird, and found a towel. I heard an 'eep' and turned to find her covering her eyes.

"You okay, Kotomi-chan?"

"Tomoya-kun! Please do not surprise me like that!" she exclaimed, her eyes still covered.

"Sorry," I said, crawling back under the sheets. "Here, I found a towel for you." I then chuckled as she groped around with one hand, her eyes still closed. "You can open your eyes now; I'm under the covers."

She cautiously opened an eye before taking the towel, wrapping herself in it, and heading to the bathroom.

After she had her shower I went and took mine. As the water washed off the events from yesterday I let my mind wander. Sex with Kotomi was…interesting. In a good way.

On the few occasions that I watched porn at Sunohara's place, it always seemed like the couples were focused on the physical stimulation side of things. More and more (and sometimes weirder and weirder) ways to 'pleasure' your partner. There were many times I would have to leave because of how…upsetting…it was. I always felt that there had to be something more to sex than just the physical part of it, but I wasn't sure what 'more' there was. Society used to restrict sex to married couples for a reason, I figured.

Being with Kotomi, though, really opened my eyes. She was so innocent about the whole thing. Not naïve…innocent. Like she was enjoying it because it was with me, not because it just 'felt good'. For me, it was a relief to not have to guard myself, to be me, that I was safe to be me with her. That she loved me, flaws and all and, through the act of lovemaking, she…accepted me.

I felt my chest swell at that thought. Being accepted…isn't that what everyone wants, what everyone dreams of? I could feel pressure on my eyes, and I pointed the showerhead toward my face to wash off the tears that weren't forming. No tears, nope.

* * *

I tiptoed into the bedroom just in case Kotomi had decided to nap a bit before fully waking up; I knew that I needed to do that sometimes. To my surprise, she was awake but still under the covers. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Tomoya-kun…" she patted the bed next to her. I started over to grab a set of nightclothes, but her voice stopped me. "Wait…no…"

Did she mean what I thought she did? I cautiously made my way over the bed, sliding the towel off of me to slip under the covers again. "Is this what you wanted?"

She nodded, then grabbed my arm and buried her face in it; I realized that she was also still undressed. "Could we…could we…?"

"Could we what?" I asked. I had a clue as to what she wanted, but this was one area where I did not want to be wrong. "What do you want?"

"Could we have sex again?" her voice came from somewhere around my underarm.

I chuckled at her awkwardness. She was so adorable! "Of course," I said. "Are you going to be okay, though? You just-"

"I am fine," she quickly interrupted. "I just…I miss you."

It was weird, because I missed her too, even though she was right there. "Yeah, it sounds weird, but I miss you, too," I said, gently squeezing her.

I started to turn toward her, but she suddenly popped up and pushed my shoulders down. "No."

"No?" I asked, confused. "Did I do something wrong?"

From above me she shook her head, and I noticed that one of her hair ornaments had slid down. "T-Tomoya-kun, you did all the work last time, so…" She was blushing clear to her neckline. "…so let me do the work this time."

I didn't know that I could love her any more than I already did. And once she started moving, I realized that she loved me more than I could have ever known.

* * *

"Now that we're married, I really want to work and make something of myself," I told her as we snuggled under the covers.

"You have spoken of becoming a philosopher," she murmured sleepily into my shoulder.

"I'll have to check our finances, but I think I could work toward a degree." I looked over at my wife. "Not all of us are natural geniuses, after all."

"You are smart, Tomoya-kun…just in a different way." She looked up at me. "You understand a lot about people. I am not very knowledgeable about that."

"Thanks, Kotomi-chan," I said as a stroked her silky hair. "That means a lot to me."

"Go to university, study hard…" she gave me a squeeze. "I love you so much."

Your love, Kotomi-chan…I felt like I could do anything because of that.


	30. To Distant Lands

**Chapter Thirty: To Distant Lands**

"Dr. Okazaki, my question is this: Why should I believe in something that cannot be proved scientifically?" The young man adjusted his glasses as he finished his question. He was hard to see due to the lighting, but I managed.

"That's a good question, and thank you for asking," I replied. "First of all, we need to establish our terms. When you say 'scientifically', to what are you referring?"

The student fidgeted for a moment, adjusting his glasses again. "I suppose that would mean anything that can be proven through the scientific method."

"Give me an example."

"Well…like gravity; it's been proven scientifically, right?"

"Correct," I confirmed with a sympathetic smile.

"…so I have no problem with the idea of gravity because it's been scientifically proven."

"Okay, I'll give you that," I conceded. "Though I would point out that anyone who had ever tried to fly unassisted has discovered it without utilizing the scientific method." I could hear a subdued chuckle from the audience.

"Sir-"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" I said with a hopefully-disarming smile. "I do understand your point. But let me ask you this: can you see gravity?"

"Well, no."

"Can you smell it?"

"Doctor, I don't-"

"Just humor me, please." I folded my hands on the table before me and fixed my gaze on him.

He shrugged. "No, obviously you can't smell it."

"Okay, then. Would I be correct in saying that gravity cannot be detected by any of our five senses? Would I be correct in saying that?"

The student nodded quickly. "Of course."

Good; he was ready. "So how do we know that gravity exists? Or, more precisely, how do scientists know that gravity exists?"

"That's…well…" He finally dropped his shoulders. "I don't know, sir."

I nodded as I regarded this representative of the future of Japan. "By the effect it has on other things."

I enjoyed watching the light of realization appear on the student's face. "Of course! We can't see gravity, but…okay!"

"Now with this," I continued, "we may have to accept that there may be things out there that we cannot perceive but exist in spite of that."

"Like God?"

He had me there. "I'm…not quite to that point in my particular journey," I admitted, feeling more than a little awkward. "Based on the evidence that I've witnessed, I do believe that there is some force beyond what we can currently detect, but I'm not ready to renounce Shintoism just yet." I gave a wink and a smile. "I only started studying theology but a year ago."

The young man nodded deferentially. "Thank you for your time, doctor."

"I do hope that I've helped," I offered. "Last question, please?"

"Yeah, doc…when did you get so smart as well as hot?"

A collective gasp rose from the audience.

"Excuse me?!" I squinted through the lighting. I knew that voice, but it had been years… "Kyou? Is that you?"

The figure appeared to finger-wave at me. "Hiya."

* * *

"Wow," Kyou said as she leaned forward in her chair to study me. "Doctor Okazaki…hard to believe."

I smiled self-consciously. "Looking back, I've surprised myself as well. It was, what, five years ago? Recycling shop and nothing but part of a high-school education?" I sobered as I recalled what it had taken me to get here. "I really owe Kotomi's parents a huge debt of gratitude. Were it not for their patents…"

I felt a gentle touch to my arm, and I looked over at my wife, who smiled softly at me. "I always believed that you could do it, Tomoya-kun."

"I know," I said, covering her hand with mine. "Your faith and their money…that's why I was able to earn those degrees."

"And your hard work," Kotomi added, leaning toward me.

"Gross," Kyou gagged. "You two are making me sick. I can't handle this much sugar."

"Anyway," I said, deliberately ignoring Kyou's jab, "I'm just grateful that I've been able to do all this. I've been able to help a lot of people, and it feels really good."

"Kinda like high school?" Kyou asked.

I nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, now that you mention it."

Kyou shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "How's…your son?"

"Raishin?" I glanced over at Kotomi before returning my gaze to Kyou. "He's doing fine. In fact, after I'm done here we'll be heading over to pick him up from Grandpa and Grandma Furukawa."

My old friend smiled at Kotomi. "Did they ever really adopt you?"

"Not legally," Kotomi replied.

"In spirit, though," I offered. "They had lost their daughter, Kotomi had lost her parents…" I spread my hands. "It ended up being a perfect fit."

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi scolded, "I could never replace Nagisa-chan."

"I wasn't trying to say that," I replied. "I just mean that each of you filled a role for the other…filled a gap, if you will. You became their daughter."

"Wow," Kyou interrupted with admiration. "That's…pretty heavy, Tomoya."

"Pretty heavy for me, I assume?"

Kyou shook her head. "No, just…you're amazing. I guess I saw that in second-year." She smiled sadly. "I'm such a coward…"

"No," Kotomi gently corrected. "Tomoya-kun is just the wrong man for you."

"You think so?" Kyou said wistfully.

Kotomi nodded with a solemn expression. "There is a man better suited to you out there, I am certain of it."

"But the machine…" Kyou shook her head. "Never mind. No sense crying over spilled milk five years later."

"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled.

Just then the door opened and an older man stuck his head inside. "Doctor Okazaki?"

"Yes?" Kotomi and I both answered reflexively. We then looked at each other and shared a laugh.

The man chuckled as well. "Of course. I mean, Doctor Okazaki Tomoya."

"Is the next class ready?" I asked. After receiving a nod from the gentleman I turned to my wife. "Well Kotomi-chan, time for me to try to put another class to sleep."

"I am certain that they will hang on you every word," she replied. "I know that I do."

"All right, break it up," Kyou interjected. "You can work on giving Raishin a brother or sister later."

I sent Kyou a dirty look as my wife blushed furiously. "Would you like to join me on-stage this time, Kotomi-chan?" I just wanted to keep her away from Kyou, who seemed to be in an overall plucky mood.

"Oh, I should not do that," she replied. "The last time I was up there…"

I remembered; the students who did not know that she was married mistook her for one of my colleagues and kept asking her out on dates instead of asking me questions. "Okay, I'll see you in an hour then," I finished, giving her a peck on the cheek. I then enjoyed the look of adoration on her face as I left for my lecture.

Five years…had it really been that long? Time really can fly, can't it?

* * *

"Well, here we are…"

Kotomi and I stood at the ocean shore, Raishin asleep in his mother's arms. We made it a point to come here once a year once finances allowed it. This particular stretch of beach had no small amount of significance to my wife.

"I'll take him," I said, reaching for our son.

She smiled wordlessly and handed him to me. Then she walked to the shoreline and knelt down. I knew that she was imagining the suitcase at the edge of the water and the journey it must have taken to get here. She was also probably imagining the route it took over land to get to her hands.

I gave her a few minutes, then moved to her side and squatted next to her. She looked over at me with a smile. "Feel better?" I asked.

She sighed in thought, and her smile faded a little. "I will never be completely better," she admitted. "But being here gives me comfort in that I have one more connection with them."

I mulled this over. "For what it's worth, I think they'd be very proud of you."

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun," she said, blushing, as she laid a hand on my cheek. "I think so, too. I think they would also approve of my choice of husband."

It was my turn to blush. "Heh, you think so?"

She nodded. "Mommy and Daddy were very fond of you. Mommy told me that a boy like you would be good for me."

I chuckled. "I'd have to argue with that. I was a rascal."

"Are you a rascal now?"

I stopped. Maybe I was a rascal back then, but…were her parents able to see something in me that no one else could? I saw Kotomi rise to her feet, and I followed suit.

"You are a good man, Tomoya-kun," she said warmly. "I am so happy that we met as children and again in high school."

I reached out with my free hand and took hers; as always it was soft and cool to the touch. "Me too." I glanced at the sunset. "Are you ready to head back?"

She nodded, albeit reluctantly. "I have done what I came here for."

And so we turned and headed back to our suite. The life of a traveling lecturer is a difficult one, both for the teacher and his family. But with a strong yet tender woman like Kotomi, the future had unlimited…potential.

 _Rough Draft complete_


	31. Possibilities

**Chapter X: Possibilities**

"Hey, uh, Kotomi…"

"Yes, Tomoya? What is it?"

"Well, we've been friends for years, right? Since I wandered into your back yard, right?"

"That is correct. For approximately eight years."

"Yeah, haha. Well…I've been thinking…that is…um…"

"Tomoya? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just a little nervous."

"Why is that?"

"Well…because…that's because…"

"Tomoya?"

"…"

"…?"

"Kotomi? May I date you?"

"…"

"Kotomi?"

*sob* "Yes! Yes! Oh Tomoya, I've waited for so long!"

 _Fin_


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